NIU will be reimbursed $243,800 this year for tuition increases charged to students in the Monetary Award Program, said Robert Clement of the Illinois State Scholarship Commission.

Legislation recently signed by Gov. James Thompson appropriates money to reimburse NIU and other state universities for tuition increases charged to students in the program. After the implementation of a $125 tuition surcharge approved by the Board of Regents for the spring 1989 semester, NIU did not require MAP students to pay the tuition increase.

NIU would have been forced to pay for the tuition increases of MAP students if the Illinois General Assembly had not approved the legislation.

“The Monetary Award Program is a long standing program of awards” administrated by the Illinois State Scholarship Commission based on need, said NIU Financial Aid Director Jerry Augsburger.

The Monetary Award Program is open to students who still owe money to a university after their family’s contribution has been subtracted from the total cost of school fees. Students fill out financial aid forms and indicate on the form that they want their form sent to the ISSC, Augsburger said.

“NIU gave tuition offsets in the range of $250,000 to $300,000 to about 2700 MAP students,” Augsburger said. “The maximum award for students in MAP cannot exceed their tuition and fees,” with a maximum MAP grant of $3,150 given to a student in a year, Augsburger said.

An MAP can be given to “all approved schools both public and private,” Clement said. MAP students will receive the amount of the increase—$125 in this case—and most students will receive less than $125, Augsburger said.

The Illinois Monetary Award Program is the second largest program of its kind; New York’s is the largest.