College president: Students need certainty and support - Galesburg.com

There are few things more important to our own local college students and college students across Illinois than the Monetary Award Program. Without a state budget, Illinois’ students and their colleges are scrambling to figure out how to fund their educations. The Illinois Monetary Award Program provides grants of up to $4,720 to students with the greatest financial need to make their education affordable — for most, making their college education possible. For more than six months, this crucial financial aid has been withheld because of the state’s budget impasse. These students remain in a sort of financial limbo awaiting payment of the financial aid the state promised them when they enrolled in college last spring. For some, the delay has forced them to actually consider whether they can continue their education without the support the state promised them. http://www.galesburg.com/article/20160116/OPINION/160119786