NORMAL - A popular form of financial aid recently cut from the state budget is taking center stage at local universities.  Lawmakers nixed funding for the Monetary Award Program -- or MAP Grant -- in the second semester.  The grant is need-based, and 150,000 students across the state depend on it.

30-year-old Amy Stupay says, "It made sense for me to come back for a year and get it done, and be able to leave school more educated."  Stupay is back at Illinois State after taking a decade off.  It was a big decision.

This is her last year of school at the undergraduate level.  She was thrilled to finally be finishing her degree, until one letter from ISU changed everything.  "To get that letter and find out I made all these plans, but now I might not be able to go back in the spring was heart-breaking," she says.

The letter says Illinois' current budget only provides funding for MAP Grants in the first semester, and not in the second semester.  It was a cost-cutting decision by Governor Quinn.

Stupay says, "This grant is everything for me to be able to afford ISU."  She's not alone.  About 3,000 ISU students and 430 IWU students receive MAP Grants.  For many, it's their only way to pay for school.

Scott Seibring is the director of financial aid at Illinois Wesleyan.  He says, "This grant is critical for families."  Without MAP grants, schools can supplement costs and urge students to find other forms of financial aid.

Jay Groves is a spokesman for Illinois State University.  He says, "Last year we supplemented by about $5.2 million.  We expect to do that again this year."  "We're still exploring all the different opportunities to make sure students are able to return to Illinois Wesleyan," Seibring says.

As for Stupay, her dreams of becoming a corporate trainer might be put on hold...again.  "There's a strong chance I'll have to take a semester or year off and come back and do it again."

ISU President Al Bowman is working closely with legislators in hopes of restoring full funding for MAP Grants.  There's a chance that could happen with the General Assembly returns to Springfield this fall.