SXU student voices heard at MAP grant rally in Springfield

Illinois House votes 115-0 to appropriate additional $205 million for student aid program

Saint Xavier University students with Illinois Governor Pat Quinn in Springfield. The students attended a rally successfully urging State Legislators to provide additional funding for Monetary Award Program grants.

Chicago (Oct. 15, 2009) A Saint Xavier University student group took part in a rally urging Governor Pat Quinn and the Illinois Legislature to provide additional funding for Monetary Award Program Grants in Springfield, with the Illinois House voting 115-0 to appropriate another $205 million for the college student aid program. The House has not yet approved a source for the funds.

The Saint Xavier student group joined about 1,500 other students from across the state in ensuring their voices are heard on this important issue.

The budget that was passed by the General Assembly and signed by the Governor on July 14 provided approximately $220 million for MAP grants, about half of the proposed funding. The cuts to the program could have left as many as 138,000 students unable to return to college for the spring semester.

42.5 percent of Saint Xavier University undergraduates depend on MAP grants as of the 2009 Fall semester, amounting to a total of $5.8 million for this academic year, or an average of $4,492 per student for the academic year.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION

Jay Foot, Executive Director of Media Relations
O: (773) 298-3937
C: (773) 617-3632
foot@sxu.edu