How State of Residence Shapes College Affordability and Illinois’ MAP Grants

By: Jennifer Delaney

Historically, state need-based aid has been the largest area of state investment in student financial aid. However, state need-based grant aid is not evenly distributed across the US states. Some states, like South Dakota, invested less than $1 million in 2010-11 in need-based undergraduate grant aid. Other states, like Illinois, invested more than $400 million in need-based undergraduate grant aid in 2010-11 (NASSGAP 2010-11). Figure 1 shows that just nine states provide 72.6% of all need-based undergraduate grant aid in the US. The other 41 states’ collective effort amounts to only 27.4% of the total effort made by states in this area. Given this uneven distribution of state need-based grant aid across the country, students’ prospects for college are largely shaped by where they live. Low income students in the nine states that provide 72.6% of all need-based undergraduate grant aid have better prospects of being able to make college affordable than do their low income peers in other states.

Even students in the nine largest need-based aid states are seeing erosions in state investment in need-based aid. For example, Illinois offers 6.3% of the total nationwide state investment in need-based grant aid. In 2010-11, Illinois awarded $404.513 million in need-based aid, which represents 98% of the state total investment in student aid. The primary undergraduate need-based grant aid program in Illinois is called the Monetary Award Program (MAP), which is administered by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC). MAP can be used at any approved Illinois college by Illinois residents. The grant award season begins in January, when students are first able to apply for MAP by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), and awards vary depending on a student’s financial circumstance, the cost of tuition at a student’s school, and the maximum award allowed in that year. In 2011-12, the effective maximum MAP award amount was $4,720. Awards are processed until the funds are exhausted, leaving some students who qualify for MAP unable to receive a grant if the funds are depleted before their FAFSA is complete. ISAC reports the number of eligible recipients with suspended awards each year. Table 1 shows the maximum (or effective maximum, which includes rescissions) MAP award, the total number of students in Illinois eligible for MAP, and the number and percent of eligible students who did not receive a MAP award. In 2000-01, all of the 197,889 students who were eligible for MAP received an award. In the 2011-12 award year, 369,674 students were eligible for MAP, which left 145,365 eligible students, or 39%, without awards. The suspension date for the 2011-12 MAP grant was April 8, 2011. 

Because MAP is awarded on a first-come, first-serve basis, not all eligible students have equal odds of being denied an award. This is a particular hardship for students who decide to enroll in community colleges close to the start of the fall semester, or students who otherwise are not informed about the early suspension date for the program.

However, prior research has shown that receipt of MAP can affect postsecondary outcomes. Feeney and Heroff (2010) examine the relationship between the MAP grant and college persistence and enrollment for first-year students in Illinois who completed the 2003-2004 FAFSA and qualified for MAP. Low-income students who receive MAP are significantly more likely to enroll in college and more likely to enroll in a 4-year college, compared to non-recipients. The amount of the MAP award also impacts student enrollment and persistence.

At the end of December a state-wide task force on MAP released a report offering recommendations on the program.  Overall, the commission took a stand by not recommending many changes to the MAP program.  Instead, the commission restated a commitment to need-based aid through the MAP program.  Even though Illinois has been a historically strong need-based aid state, this recommitment to need-based aid is needed to prevent further erosion in support for low-income students. I hope the work of the MAP commission will inspire higher education institutions and the General Assembly to work towards reaffirming Illinois’ leadership in providing postsecondary opportunities for low income students. 

Figure 1: Need-based Undergraduate Grant Aid by State: 2010-11

Source: NASSGAP 2010-11.

Table 1: Number of Eligible Students Denied Funds for MAP Grants in Illinois, 2000-01 to 2011-12
Year	Maximum Award or Effective Maximum	Number Eligible	Number Eligible Left in Susp.	Percent of Eligible Students Who Did Not Receive a MAP Award
2000-01	$4,740	197,889	0	0.0%
2001-02	$4,968	210,299	16,544	7.9%
2002-03	$4,720	214,179	44,144	20.6%
2003-04	$4,471	236,631	51,832	21.9%
2004-05	$4,471	241,024	26,453	11.0%
2005-06	$4,521	230,088	26,375	11.5%
2006-07	$4,968	236,168	34,798	14.7%
2007-08	$4,968	239,455	43,361	18.1%
2008-09	$4,968	259,333	59,846	23.1%
2009-10	$4,968	314,198	120,048	38.2%
2010-11	$4,844	351,188	151,367	43.1%
2011-12	$4,720	369,674	145,365	39.3%
Source: 2012 ISAC Databook. Tables 2.0c Monetary Award Program - Maximum Award History Academic Year 1977-2013 and 2.0d MAP/IIA Suspension History FY1978-FY2012. https://www.isac.org/dotAsset/14943d2b-302a-4e9c-a555-53ccd12eacc7.pdf