NIU Today

Students from Illinois community colleges and universities convened in Springfield this week to urge members of the General Assembly to invest in their futures through support for Monetary Award Program (MAP) grants. On Thursday, April 19, Gov. Pat Quinn told several hundred students gathered at the Lincoln statue on the Capitol grounds that “ …...

In Springfield … The Illinois General Assembly returns this week from a two-week spring break. Lawmakers are now scheduled in weekly until they are expected to convene by May 31. If they go past this deadline, a super-majority is required to pass any bill. Members of the Governor’s Work Group on Pension Reform is scheduled to...

In Springfield … The Illinois primary elections were held Tuesday, March 20. The elections results can be found on the Illinois Board of Elections website. The Illinois General Assembly was in session Wednesday through Friday of last week. Members of the House of Representatives approved HB 3810 (vote: 95 yes, 25 no, 2 present), introduced by...

Just like the early onset of summer-like weather and temperatures, the suspension of 2012-13 MAP Grant processing has arrived sooner than anyone expected. Administrators in NIU’s Student Financial Aid Office alerted all undergraduates via email Wednesday, March 14, that the prospect of a suspension was imminent. The email urged students who had not filed the...

NIU’s Student Financial Aid Office anticipates the production of award notifications within the next week. Illinois colleges and universities have received an announcement from the Illinois Student Assistance Commission regarding an early suspension of Monetary Award Program (MAP) awards. Last year’s suspension date occurred toward the end of March;  an even earlier date is anticipated...

In Springfield… The General Assembly completed its work for this calendar year last week with the passage of two pieces of legislation.  The first (Senate Bill 397) was a $330 million package of business tax breaks, primarily directed to retain the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and Sears in Illinois.  It also included the reinstatement of the...

In Springfield … The Illinois General Assembly reconvened Tuesday to try to finalize some issues left pending during the regularly scheduled fall veto session. Senators passed, with a veto-proof majority, a Chicago Mercantile Exchange/Sears tax relief package (HB 1883); however, this bill was defeated in the House by a vote of 99-8. This bill was a...

Nora Lindvall, recently named as NIU’s Student Lincoln Laureate, has had a spectacular college career, to be sure. She is a stellar student with two majors, who speaks five languages and interned this past summer with the vice president of the European Parliament. But Lindvall says her impressive college career would not have been possible...

NIU’s Student Association will host a March on Springfield Lobby Day. Marchers will protest cuts to funding of MAP grants and other areas impacting NIU, including faculty and staff pensions and the university’s operating budget. Transportation to and from the event will be provided by the Student Association; the Student Association has requested faculty are...

In Washington, D.C. … Last week, the Senate rejected, by a vote of 50-49, President Obama’s jobs bill and the Senate Democrats are now working with the president to disassemble the $447 billion package into smaller bills that will deal with specific elements contained in the jobs bill. The Democrats will try to force the...

NIU students who receive Monetary Award Program (MAP) grant funding are being warned that reductions are likely for the spring semester. The current situation is reminiscent of the 2010-11 academic year, when limited state funding and high application volume made it necessary to lower second- and third-term awards. More than 6,200 NIU students – more...

Attention Illinois residents: The deadline for Illinois MAP grant submissions has been extended. Applications for the 2011–2012 FAFSA must be submitted by 10:59 p.m. Friday, March 25, to be considered for Illinois MAP grants. NIU’s School Code is 001737. Tax information requested on the FAFSA may be estimated and updated to actual amounts at a later date. Student...