PCC Policy Manager, Alejandra Villa-Moges, provided a statement at the Illinois State Capitol during the House Subject Matter Hearing Testimony on Thursday, April 23, 2026. Representing the Coalition for Transforming Higher Education Funding, Villa-Moges highlighted the need for increased funding throughout Illinois’ public higher education system, particularly for the state’s Monetary Award Program, commonly known as MAP.
During her testimony to the House Higher Education Appropriation Committee, she discussed the proposed $71 million needed for MAP funding to ensure that all eligible students get state aid, and why it’s important in terms of research and data on student success, connecting it to her personal story as a first generation college student. Alejandra’s full remarks are available below.
House Subject Matter Hearing Testimony – Alejandra Villa-Moges’ Statement to the House Higher Education Appropriation Committee Regarding Illinois’ Monetary Award Program (MAP)
Good morning, Chairperson Ford; Vice-Chairperson Meyers-Martin and members of the Higher Education Appropriation committee.
My name is Alejandra Villa-Moges. Thank you for the opportunity to follow the Illinois Student Assistance Commission today and share on behalf of the Coalition for Transforming Higher Education Funding.
- While Illinois has taken steps to increase funding to higher education in the last few years, our state has more work to do to get on the right track to adequately fund higher education after decades of disinvestment. As a coalition, we are deeply concerned that in a tight budget year, higher education, once again, is being shortchanged in order to balance our state budget.
- As the state’s need-based aid program, the MAP Grant is an essential tool in moving Illinois toward equity in higher education. Over 60% of Latino students and over 65% of Black students at Illinois public institutions rely on MAP grants. Sixty-eight percent of MAP recipients are working to be the first in their families to receive a college degree. These are students for whom tuition support can make all the difference between a degree and stopping short of a degree.
- The research is clear— completing a college degree comes down to having the resources to do so.
- And when research also shows that good jobs will increasingly require a bachelor’s degree, we cannot call higher education a luxury. A degree is only becoming more essential in a changing workforce and economy. A college degree is still the most sure path toward financial stability for first-generation and low-income students. And when these students achieve financially, their families, communities, and the state benefits.
- Adults with college degrees, on average, exercise more spending power, vote at higher rates, pay more in taxes, and accumulate more wealth over their lifetimes.
- The Coalition for Higher Education Funding is asking for an additional $71M for MAP, which we calculate would have covered last year’s eligible enrolled college students who were not able to secure a MAP Grant before funding ran out.
- We saw some of the worst declines in college enrollment through the pandemic, but students are now bouncing back, and we need to meet them with the support they need to make it all the way through to completion.
This issue is a deeply personal one. Many of us here today can attest to the power of higher education.
- I myself am a proud first generation college graduate. But I still remember the challenge in calculating trade-offs when I was a 19-year old weighing the long-term cost of student loans, and time invested into campus life versus employment. These trade-offs are only more challenging for today’s students as the cost of attendance for college has skyrocketed in the last 15 years.
- Despite the rising cost of higher education, students and families continue to pursue ways to make it work financially. We see this in the record number of federal aid applications this year nationally. But because of MAP’s underfunding, ISAC has announced a suspension of awards after today for the 2026-2027 academic year, meaning that again thousands of students who are otherwise eligible will fall into the coverage gap.
- Illinois cannot allow higher education to become inaccessible to the very students who stand to gain the most from a college degree.