Illinois' MAP grants — the monetary award program for low-income college students — would be available to more students if a bill approved by the legislature this month becomes law.

The nonprofit Partnership for College Completion’s Illinois Equity in Attainment Initiative asks schools to develop a plan to increase graduation rates among students who are low-income, first generation or students of color. 

Two bills recently passed the state legislature that aim to keep more Illinois high school students in state for college. This comes as the Illinois Board of Higher Education reports that since 2000, the number of Illinois residents enrolled as freshman at colleges outside of Illinois has increased by 73 percent. 

Parents of college students and high school seniors headed that way should be busy filling out financial aid paperwork — if they haven’t already.

The new state budget will fund Illinois colleges and universities at the level of funding they received in 2015 — minus 10 percent. But there’s one area of higher education that got a boost.