The Illinois Student Assistance Commission has warned that continued uncertainty over state funding for tuition-assistance grants could jeopardize the academic success of thousands of low-income students.
Gov. Bruce Rauner signed into law last week a stopgap budget to keep state government operating for six months. The budget provides $151 million to cover grants made to students this spring through the Monetary Award Program. It does not provide funding for grants for the upcoming school year.
A survey from the commission, which oversees the program, says more than 18,000 students could delay or not complete their degrees. The commission says the survey of more than 10,000 grant recipients was conducted before the recent budget was approved and that some students might have responded differently in light of the grants' being fully-funded for the 2015-16 school year.
Despite budget deal, MAP funding still uncertain
