Illinois Veteran Grant (IVG) recipients are entitled to be exempt from paying tuition and certain fees at Illinois public postsecondary institutions.

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110 ILCS 947/40 and 20(f)

23 ILLINOIS ADMINISTRATIVE CODE CH. XIX, SEC. 2733.10

To cover all tuition and mandatory fees for qualified applicants attending public universities or community colleges in the state for a period that is equivalent to 4 years of full-time enrollment, including summer terms.

Yes

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Individuals;

To be eligible for the IVG, you must have served for at least one year of federal active duty service in the Armed Forces of the United States, a Reserve component of the Armed Forces, or the Illinois National Guard. Or, regardless of length of service, you may eligible if you have served in a foreign country in a time of hostilities in that country; have been medically discharged for service related reasons; or have been discharged prior to August 11, 1967. For each period of federal active duty service, you must have received an honorable discharge. You must also meet certain Illinois residency requirements, based on residency prior to entering service and after separation from service. Effective July 1, 2019, Illinois residency requirements for IVG were expanded to allow veterans who did not separate to Illinois, but have since resided in Illinois after for at least 15 years after leaving service to be eligible for the program. To qualify under this provision, the veteran must: reside in Illinois at the time application and while enrolled, and have been a resident of Illinois for at least 15 consecutive years after leaving federal active duty. Veterans will need to provide documentation that confirms Illinois residency for the 15 consecutive years.

Individuals

Direct Payments for Specific Use

Education

In order to establish eligibility for this grant, an individual shall submit to ISAC an application and documentation of all periods of service. An applicant should submit a copy of the Certificate of Release or Discharge From Active Duty (DD Form 214) or Discharge Certificate, which can be obtained from the National Personnel Records Center or the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs, or other documentation as required. If the applicant does not have a copy of the DD Form 214, the applicant should submit documentation that provides the following information: date of entry, date of separation, character of service, total active service, home or place of entry into the service, and home or place of separation from the service. The documentation must have been issued by the United States Department of Defense (DD) or the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. If the applicant is a member of the Armed Forces at the time of application, a letter from the commanding officer shall be submitted. This letter must: A) indicate that the applicant is a member of the Armed Forces at the time of application; B) include character of service; C) include the veteran's home of record at the time of original enlistment; D) state the individual's length of time in each period of federal active duty service; and E) state the expiration date of the current enlistment The definition of "Resident of Illinois" (23 Ill. Adm. Code 2700.20) does not apply to the IVG Program; rather, for the purposes of this program, residency is established as stated above. If the applicant's DD Form 214 does not indicate Illinois residency when entering and/or separating from the Armed Forces, and when any other residency requirement is being verified, residency may be verified by providing one or more of the documents listed below. ISAC may choose to request documents in addition to, or instead of, those listed. The dates recorded on the documents must indicate the applicant has resided in Illinois for the required period. A) Illinois driver's license issued during the relevant 6 month period; B) Illinois high school or college transcripts demonstrating attendance during the relevant 6 month period; C) Utility bills/rent receipts in the applicant's name for the relevant 6 month period; D) Illinois motor vehicle registration issued during the relevant 6 month period; E) Residential lease in the applicant's name for the relevant 6 month period; F) Statement of benefits history from the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services for the relevant 6 month period; G) Statement of benefits from the Illinois Department of Employment Security for the relevant 6 month period; H) State of Illinois identification card issued during the relevant 6 month period; or I) Letter of employment verified by certification in accordance with Illinois law (see 735 ILCS 5/1-109) and printed on company letterhead.

N/A

An applicant must apply to ISAC for assistance under this Part. ISAC will issue a Notice of Eligibility to each qualified applicant. The online application is available on the ISAC website, and may be completed any time during the award year. Required documentation, including DD214s for all periods of federal active duty service, may be uploaded to ISAC electronically through the application process.

Because this is an entitlement program, eligible recipients will receive their awards regardless of annual appropriations. Illinois public 2- and 4-year colleges are required to waive any eligible tuition and mandatory fees that are not covered by state appropriations. IVG benefits do not expire.

The IVG recipient is exempt from paying tuition and fees that meet the definition of tuition (see 23 Ill. Adm. Code 2700.20), and mandatory fees (see 23 Ill. Adm. Code 2700.20). Benefits are applicable to both undergraduate and graduate enrollment. There are no minimum credit hour enrollment requirements and benefits are applicable for noncredit courses. A qualified applicant who has previously received IVG benefits for a non-mandatory fee shall continue to receive benefits covering those fees while enrolled in a continuous program of study. The reimbursement to institutions for Illinois Veteran Grants is contingent upon available funding.

To receive an Illinois Veteran Grant, a qualified applicant must notify the institution of the qualified applicant's eligibility no later than the last scheduled day of classes for the term for which a grant is requested. ISAC will annually establish priority claim dates for the submission of payment requests and inform institutions of the required priority dates. For the summer term, the priority claim date will be during the month of September; for the fall term, the priority claim date will be during the month of December; for the spring term, the priority claim date will be during the month of May.

Within 30 days of receipt of application.

N/A

Applicants must apply annually. Benefits are limited to the equivalent of four academic years of full-time enrollment, which is measured in eligibility units. Recipients may accumulate up to 120 eligibility units. Full program benefits may be extended for one additional term if the recipient has accumulated fewer than 120 eligibility units but does not have enough units remaining for the number of hours in which the recipient is enrolled for the term.

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IVG covers tuition and mandatory fees, defined as a fee that an institution assesses to each and every full-time student for each term. Application, graduation, laboratory, breakage, add/drop fees, and program administrative fees for out-of-state or foreign study are specifically excluded. Benefits are limited to use only at Illinois public universities and Illinois public community colleges. If a student is eligible for both an IVG and a Monetary Award Program (MAP) grant, the IVG benefits must be used first. A student cannot decline IVG benefits in favor of using MAP. If a student is eligible for, and has indicated to the institution the intent to receive educational assistance through, the Post-9/11 GI Bill (38 USC, Chapter 33), the institution must first apply Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to the student's financial aid award. IVG benefits can then be used to cover the remaining IVG eligible tuition and mandatory fees.

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The grant is applicable only toward tuition and mandatory fees.

The Illinois Veteran Grant (IVG) Program provides assistance to students who served at least one year of federal active duty service in the Armed Forces of the United States, or served on federal active duty service in a foreign country during a time of hostilities in that country, and who were honorably discharged after their most recent period of federal active duty service, and/or are honorably serving in the Armed Forces.

https://www.isac.org/e-library/documents/administrative-rules/2022-23-isac-rules/2733-IVG.pdf

500 West Monroe, 3rd Floor Springfield, IL 62704

1755 Lake Cook Road Deerfield, IL 60015-5209

https://www.isac.org/students/during-college/types-of-financial-aid/grants/ivg-program.html

Illinois National Guard (ING) Grant Program

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