The newly adopted state budget includes Monetary Award Program grant funding for the past academic year (2016-2017), as well as for the upcoming academic year (2017-2018).

President Barbara A. Farley expressed her gratitude for the many people who contacted state legislators and other elected officials in support of MAP funding and thanked the Illinois College Board of Trustees who approved covering MAP funds for both academic years in the event that no state budget was approved.

“More than 400 Illinois College students rely on MAP funds annually to achieve their dreams of Graduating READY. To ensure the security of funding for future students, we must not take this budget approval for granted,” said President Farley. “It is important to remain engaged in the legislative process in order to sustain MAP funding as a legislative priority.”