Illinois National Guard Grant (ING)
How to Apply
To apply for the Illinois National Guard Grant (ING), the applicant must be on active duty status and have served for at least one year in the Illinois National Guard. Enlisted persons currently serving and company grade officers are eligible. Time served in other branches of the U.S. Armed forces does not count toward this requirement. The application can be obtained from the ISAC Student Portal and from your unit. The applicant must apply to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) for these educational benefits and must supply all requested information. No payments will be made on behalf of any eligible student unless a current application is on file.
Submit your complete application in time for ISAC to determine your eligibility, and you to then notify the college regarding your eligibility no later than the last scheduled day of classes for the first term for which benefits have been requested. Applications must be submitted each academic year, which begins with the fall term and concludes the following summer term. Allow up to four weeks for the processing of your application. If no response has been received after four weeks, contact ISAC at 1-800-899-4722 or isac.studentservices@illinois.gov.
Selection criteria
After the application is processed and one year of duty is verified by the Illinois Department of Military Affairs, an eligibility letter is sent to the applicant. The applicant will be required to submit the eligibility letter to the Office of Financial Assistance, along with a Request for Benefits Form after registering for classes. The Request for Benefits Form can also be picked up in the Office of Financial Assistance located in UHB 1015.
Award Amount
This grant can pay for eligible tuition and certain fees (i.e., graduation, general activity, and term fees) for undergraduate or graduate study. A grant recipient at UIS is entitled to receive tuition, tuition differential, a portion of the service fee allocated for activity fee, and online academic support fees for the number of hours enrolled each term. Graduation fees are also covered. Credit hours are converted to eligibility units with a maximum usage of 96 units. There is no minimum enrollment requirement, and benefits are applicable to noncredit courses. Students with both IL MAP Grant and ING benefit eligibility may not receive combined ING and MAP that exceeds tuition and mandatory fees. ING is applied first, followed by MAP grant funds.
Because this is an entitlement program, eligible recipients will receive their awards regardless of annual appropriations by the Illinois General Assembly and the governor. Illinois public
2- and 4-year colleges are required to waive any eligible tuition and allowable fees that are not covered by state appropriations.
Eligibility
Students must maintain a minimum cumulative earned GPA of 3.0 or higher for Graduate students and 2.0 or higher for Undergraduate students. Students who are on SAP Cancellation will have their cumulative earned GPA reviewed to make sure they are meeting standards for ING eligibility. Students who are on SAP Cancellation and the cumulative earned GPA is below the SAP standard will be denied the waiver.
Additional Information
Students may be eligible for both the ING and federal Veterans' Affairs (VA) educational benefits. For questions about using multiple military and/or veterans educational benefits, please contact the UIS Office of Financial Aid or UIS Military & Veteran Student Services at 217-206-8387 or veterans@uis.edu.