The Illinois Board of Higher Education recommends students be eligible to receive funds from the Monetary Awards Program for six years instead of five.

The recommendation is the result of one-year study by the IBHE of financial aid in Illinois.

Ross Hodel, IBHE deputy director, said the board accepted the recommendation which includes targeting of programs to recruit and retain more “high-risk” students.

The report states that the increase in older, part-time and minority students makes it necessary to increase the eligibility because academic and financial reasons can result in those students taking longer to complete a degree.

Jerry Augsburger, NIU financial aid director, said extending eligibility is necessary to ensure those needing assitance can complete their degree. “You can’t just support them (students) for a short time,” he said.

The only problem, Augsburger said, would be financing the extension. “It’s going to cost somebody money,” he said. The problem is that some other programs might have to be cut if MAP is expanded.

Vicki Moseley, legislative liaison for the Illinois State Scholarship Commission, said the recommendation was a good idea but not likely to happen soon. The last bill which would have accomplished extending MAP benefits died in committee, she said.

The bill didn’t survive because “times are tight,” Moseley said. She said the project would have been hard to fund had the legislature approved it.

However, Mosely said the ISSC would have been in favor of the measure had it been enacted. “If they give us the money, we will be more than happy to spend it,” she said.