#MAPMatters to Students and to Illinois
The Illinois Monetary Award Program (MAP) grant hasn’t kept up with the cost of college, putting college out of reach for many low-income students. In 2002, MAP covered 100 percent of tuition and fees at public colleges and universities, making higher education more affordable for hundreds of thousands of students. Today, due to rising tuition and state budget cuts, a MAP grant covers less than two-thirds of tuition and fees at community colleges. To make matters worse, MAP repeatedly runs out of funding, leaving over 100,000 eligible students without a MAP grant every school year.
Urge your legislators to commit to putting at least $501 million toward MAP for FY 2020. This increase will not make up for the dramatic shortfall that limits students’ success in college, but it will allow additional eligible students to attend who may not have had the opportunity. It is a step in the right direction toward building Illinois’s workforce, strengthening our tax base, and helping students achieve their dreams.
Legislators are meeting to hammer out the details of a budget. Email your legislators now—and don’t forget to add your personal MAP story to your letter!