In the midst of hundreds of thousands of Illinois college students racing to apply to receive financial aid in the form of MAP grants, Gov. Pat Quinn announced a desire to double the amount of MAP recipients in the next five years during last Wednesday’s State of the State address.

“By doubling the number of MAP scholarships, we can make sure deserving students in need are equipped to excel in the 21st century workplace,” Quinn said in the address.

While voicing the desire to raise the number of MAP scholarships Quinn didn’t mention how he planned to do so, raising concerns of some DePaul administrators that one way to raise the number of scholarships is to reduce the size of awards given to students.

MAP grants are crucial to both DePaul students and the university itself. According to Peter Coffey, the Associate Vice President for Community and Governmental Affairs, DePaul receives about $20 million each year in MAP grants, which it then distributes to students.

“$20 million out of our budget would be a big deal,” Coffey said. “It is in everyone’s interest to support this program, whether they are a direct recipient of MAP funds or not.”

In addition to helping students and the university, Coffey said that the MAP program is a good investment by the state. By helping students attend universities and graduate, Coffey said the state is investing in creating an educated and competitive workforce that will help drive Illinois’ economy.

In April, the DePaul Student Government Association, working with the university’s administration and the Illinois board of higher education, will be going to Springfield to lobby the state legislature to restore the MAP grant to its 2009 levels of funding.

To support this SGA unanimously passed a resolution on Thursday night that calls on Governor Quinn and Illinois General assembly to restore the MAP grant and by doing so restore the state itself.

“In recent years, MAP has been reduced from a high of $405 million in the 2009 fiscal year to approximately $370 million in the 2013 fiscal year, forcing earlier than ever application deadlines,” the resolution reads. The resolution also states that DePaul has nearly 5,000 MAP recipients enrolled, the most out of any private nonprofit university in the state.

SGA also has sent out postcards for students and faculty to send to their representatives urging them to restore MAP. According to Sarah Rens, the vice president of SGA, they have sent out 3,112 postcards to 122 offices throughout the university encouraging them to distribute the cards to their faculty and students.

To try and get the greatest number of students involved as possible, SGA will be having two events in the Student Center encouraging students fill out the postcards, the first of the two events will be held on Monday, Feb 3.

While lobbying to restore the MAP is a major focus of SGA and the university, they also have been working to make sure students are applying for the MAP grant to ensure they get the aid they need. MAP funds are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis and DePaul is predicting that funds will run out around Feb 15. Last year DePaul predicted funds would deplete by March 1, only two days off from when they actually ran out on March 3.

“We think we are reaching some of those students,” Paula Luff, the associate vice president for financial aid said. According to Luff, at this time last year 19,000 students had applied for the MAP grant, and this year 25,000 have already applied.