The student must obtain an application for the Illinois MIA/POW Scholarship from the SIUC Veterans Certifying Official. The applicant is required to provide the following documentation as appropriate: marriage certificate, birth certificates, adoption decrees, guardianship papers, and/or proof of the applicant's physical, mental or developmental disability. Verification of the federal 100 percent service-connected disability rating or, if the veteran is deceased, verification from the federal Department of Veterans Affairs that the veteran's death is service-connected, or verification that the veteran has been determined by Congress to be an MIA/POW, must also accompany the application. Send completed application and supporting documents to: Department of Veterans Affairs, P. O. Box 19432, 833 S. Spring Street, Springfield, IL 62794-9432.

The applicant must be the spouse, natural child, adopted child, or step-child of a veteran or service person who has been declared by the U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs to be a prisoner of war or missing in action, or to have died as the result of a service-connected disability, or to the 100% (total) service-connected disabled, and who, at the time of entering service, was an Illinois resident and was an Illinois resident within six months of leaving service. Male applicants must also have registered with Selective Service.

The Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs reviews all applications and approves those that meet their guidelines. An award letter is provided to the student, which must be submitted to SIUC Veterans Educational Services before the award will be posted to the student's account.

The amount of the award is equal to the student's charges for tuition and selected fees. Fees not covered by MIA/POW Scholarship are the responsibility of the student.

MIA/POW Scholarship recipients do not receive a cash award. Appropriate charges based on the credit hours the student is enrolled in are billed to the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, and the amount credited to the student's SIUC account. The recipient is entitled to full payment of tuition and certain fees to any state supported Illinois institution of higher learning for the equivalent of four calendar years of full-time enrollment including summer terms (120 points).

This award can be used for both undergraduate and graduate work. If the student is also eligible for the Illinois Student Assistance Commission MAP Grant, the MIA/POW award must be used first.