HB0744 Summary

• Establishes the AIM HIGH Grant Pilot Program beginning with the 2019-2020 academic year, allowing Illinois public universities to offer merit-based scholarships to eligible undergraduate students.

• Eligible applicants must be Illinois residents with household income no greater than 6 times the federal poverty guideline, demonstrate financial need via FAFSA, maintain minimum GPA or test scores set by the university, and be enrolled full-time as undergraduate students.

• Public universities must match state-allocated funds with their own financial aid and cannot decrease total non-loan financial aid below 2017-2018 baseline levels to participate in the program.

• Universities must annually report to the Illinois Higher Education Commission on grant awards, student demographics (race, gender, income, test scores, GPA), program impact on enrollment and tuition revenue, and compliance with program requirements.

• Section is scheduled to automatically repeal on October 1, 2024; act takes effect June 1, 2020.