“I wish I had better news,” Brian Hemphill said Thursday.

Speaking to the Board of Trustees’ Academic Affairs, Student Affairs and Personnel Committee, the vice president of student affairs and enrollment management did not waste time with formalities or greetings as he launched into his presentation on the loss of the Illinois MAP grant program. The program was cut by the state as part of the recent budget crunch.

The state awarded MAP grants for the fall semester to 150,000 Illinois college students, while 130,000 that qualified for the grant were denied due to late applications. The cutoff date for applications used to be in mid-August but the deadline was changed to mid-May this year due to budget cuts. There will be no funding for the spring semester, so those students who received aid in the fall will lose it in the spring. This cut will impact the 5,291 students at NIU who received MAP grants.

Hemphill said this loss totals to $11.2 million dollars for the spring semester, or about $2,135 dollars per student.

NIU President, John Peters, stressed the severity of the situation and worries about where those affected by the cuts will get tuition money.

“This is an extremely serious issue,” Peters said. “If there is no resolution, we stand the chance of losing a cohort of needy Illinois students.”

Peters, along with a group of Illinois university presidents, plans to meet with Governor Pat Quinn and make a presentation to the Illinois legislative body.

“This is a political issue,” he said. “There is no money for the program unless it comes from a congressional fund or there is a tax increase. The chance exists that this could disappear from the budget.”

NIU plans to address the students impacted by the loss of MAP funds by repackaging their financial aid award. Their files will be updated to show no MAP awards and how much they will be short. The financial aid department will then go over loan options with students to see how the gap can be filled.

“This is going to be a major undertaking,” said Jane Jordan, associate director of financial aid. “We plan to pick specific days where an entire afternoon will be dedicated to one-on-one counseling with these students.”

NIU also plans on expanding its recruitment program to try and make up for the potential loss of students.

“We plan to go back after the students that were accepted to NIU but then chose to go to community colleges instead,” Hemphill said.

There were 887 students who chose this option in 2007, but that number increased to 972 in 2008. The NIU admissions Web site will also focus on recruitment for the spring semester. The university is rolling out radio advertisements in Chicago and its suburbs.

The committee also asked for research on the potential economic impact the loss of students could have on area businesses and landlords. This will also be used in the presentation to the state government.

Robert Boey, committee member and NIU trustee, stressed the need for action.

“If we do not act now, we stand the chance of losing 30 percent of our students,” Boey said.

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