Saint Xavier University and MAP Funding - Sign Petition to Governor Rauner

As we sat at the Saint Xavier University (SXU) faculty meeting recently discussing strategies to move the University forward during these difficult times, one glaring problem is putting us at even greater risk than our own institutional issues -- lack of Monetary Award Program (MAP) funding.

As Governor Rauner continues to hold the state budget hostage to push his obsessive anti-union agenda, young people and their families are suffering. As a candidate, Rauner ran as the "Education Governor", but Rauner the governor will allow more than 100,000 students to fall through the cracks unless he takes action to pass a budget.

In 2014, the Monetary Award Program (MAP) provided tuition assistance to 136,000 students attending Illinois colleges and universities. Without a budget to fund this essential program, these students' educations are in jeopardy. Word changes hour to hour on whether MAP will be presented; however, legislators will head back to Springfield today. Our students need and deserve a resolution to this issue.

That's why I signed a petition to Governor Bruce Rauner, which says:

"We demand Governor Rauner stop playing games with the state budget and restore funding for MAP grants, making college an option for students in need."

Margaret Carroll
Saint Xavier University Professor
School of Education

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