Submit Summer Term Claims for 2021-22 ECACE Scholarship

05/12/2022

NOTE: If you do not work directly with the administration of the ECACE Scholarship Program, please forward this message to the appropriate colleague(s) at your institution and encourage them to sign up for the "ECACE Administrators" e-Messaging subscription group.

The Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) is sharing the following information to assist colleges in the administration of the 2021-22 Early Childhood Access Consortium for Equity (ECACE) Scholarship Program.

Summer Term Payment Request Data Now Available

Effective immediately, colleges may submit payment requests (i.e., claims) for the summer term for individual ECACE Scholarship recipients via the "Student Detail: Payment" screen, or in batches for a group of students via the "Payment Request Entry" screen. Claims for all previous terms also continue to be accepted.

Colleges access payment request data via the ECACE system within the ISAC Gift Assistance Programs (GAP) Access portal.
School staff must have the appropriate level of access in order to submit payment requests. The school's primary administrator or a designated administrator is responsible for authorizing access levels.
Submitting claims is a two-step process, which involves generating the request and then submitting the request.
By submitting a payment request to ISAC via the ECACE system, a college is certifying that the student is enrolled and continues to meet all eligibility criteria.
For purposes of administering the ECACE Scholarship, summer awards will need to be administered/processed as the fourth term (i.e., end or "trailer" of the award year), much like we do for the Grant Programs for Police, Fire, or Correctional Officers and the Illinois National Guard (ING) Grant.
Payment results are available in the ECACE system on a weekly basis (every Tuesday morning, reflecting results for claims submitted throughout the prior week).
- Payment results for claims submitted through 7 p.m. (CT) on Monday, May 16 will be reflected in the ECACE system on Tuesday morning, May 17.
Colleges are encouraged to regularly review the Payment Results/Exceptions report to see which requests, if any, did not process as expected.
The disbursement of funds is processed by the State Comptroller's Office.
- Allow four to six weeks for payment processing (i.e., from the date a claim is submitted until funds are received at the college).
- Refer to the State Comptroller's Website page for information on how to track payment.

Payment Resources Available Online

More information is available at the following locations on ISAC's website:

ECACE Electronic Processing (including the ECACE User Guide)
ECACE Payment

Applications Still Being Accepted

Even though the March 1, 2022 priority consideration date has passed, 2021-22 applications will continue to be accepted and considered for awarding as long as funding remains available after all qualified applicants have been awarded. Encourage students who have not already done so to complete and submit their applications – including both the ECACE Scholarship Program application and the FAFSA – as soon as possible.

Join "ECACE Administrators" Subscription Group

If you work directly with your approved institution's administration of the ECACE Scholarship Program – or if you simply are interested in receiving general announcements and processing updates regarding the program – be sure to join the "ECACE Administrators" e-Messaging subscription group.

Existing e-Messaging subscribers may join this group by clicking on the "Unsubscribe" link that appears at the bottom of all ISAC e-Messages, selecting the "ECACE Administrators" group in the listing that appears, and then clicking on "Update Profile."

Individuals who may be interested in the "ECACE Administrators" group, but do not currently subscribe to ISAC's e-Messaging service, may sign up at the Financial Aid Administrators (FAAs) e-Messaging page.

You are receiving this message because you registered for ISAC's e-Messaging service through one or more subscription groups for FAAs.

If you have any questions regarding this e-Message, please contact ISAC's School Services Department by calling toll free at 866.247.2172 or sending an e-mail message to isac.schoolservices@illinois.gov.