A new law spearheaded by Illinois State Sen. Mike Halpin marks a significant milestone in the expansion of the AIM HIGH Grant Pilot Program.
“This will make it easier for students who live in Illinois to go to college in Illinois,” Sen. Halpin, D-Rock Island, said in a news release. “We all want to keep more students in-state for college, and this new law will actually do something to help.”
Since the 2019-20 academic year, the Aspirational Institutional Match Helping Illinois Grow Higher Education (AIM HIGH) program has provided merit-based, means-tested financial aid to first-time, full-time undergraduate students and transfer students. Recipients are Illinois residents attending any of the 12 Illinois public four-year universities including Western Illinois University (WIU) in Macomb and Moline.
AIM HIGH-participating universities are required to provide matching funding for institutional awards for students who meet certain eligibility requirements, as well as those established by each individual university. Mr. Halpin’s legislation, HB0301, was signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Friday, Aug. 11.
The new law also builds on funding increases in the merit-based scholarship for students attending Illinois public universities. Mr. Halpin highlighted funding during Gov. Pritzker’s stop to Black Hawk College in Moline last June. The AIM High scholarships help make higher education more attainable for students across the state.
The new law implements important changes in the program, including making the AIM HIGH Grant Pilot Program permanent, increasing transparency to allow more students to take advantage, increasing access for part-time students and making changes to the matching requirements for the public universities.
“These changes will help middle-class families send their kids to college here in Illinois,” Mr. Halpin added.
“Western Illinois University is excited that the state continues to invest in higher education by making the AIM HIGH grant permanent,” WIU Director of Undergraduate Admissions Doug Freed said in the release. “The grant has had a significant positive impact on Western students, and we hope for continued investment in supporting students financially so that they can continue their education.”
