SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) -- The Illinois Student Assistance Commission is offering savings on prepaid tuition contracts now through Monday. Purchasers can save more than $500 on eight semesters of prepaid tuition in the program's University Plus option versus the same plan purchased Dec. 1. The state's prepaid tuition program allows parents of college-bound students to lock in a tuition rate ahead of time and pay toward that tuition into a low-risk investment fund. Commission Executive Director Andrew Davis says families gathering for the holidays should consider purchasing the gift of college education for a child. Under the program, students can choose to attend college almost anywhere. Benefits can be used at Illinois public universities and community colleges or applied at public and private institutions nationwide. (Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
