JB Pritzker, Governor, State of Illinois

2022-23 ECACE Scholarship Update: Applications Due July 15

07/01/2022

The Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) is sharing the following information to assist colleges in the administration of the Early Childhood Access Consortium for Equity (ECACE) Scholarship Program. If you do not work directly with 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.

NOTE: In order to facilitate recipients being made aware of their awards prior to the start of the academic year, the application priority consideration date for the 2022-23 ECACE Scholarship Program is now Friday, July 15, 2022. This is an earlier date than had originally been announced.

2022-23 Processing Updates

Applications Due July 15

The priority consideration date for submitting an ECACE Scholarship application for the 2022-23 academic year is July 15, 2022. Applications received after that date will be considered if funding remains after all timely, complete qualified applicants have been awarded.

Remember:

  • Program details – including eligibility requirements, ECACE FAQs, and an ECACE Flyer – are available on our website, along with a link to the online application. As always, we ask our partners to encourage those who may be interested in applying to learn about the program before completing the application.
  • In addition to completing the ECACE application, the FAFSA must be filed for the same academic year. The ECACE-participating college the applicant plans to attend must be listed on the FAFSA. Eligibility is not based on financial need, but the FAFSA results (expected family contribution) will be used to prioritize awards among the neediest of applicants.
  • Although there is no teaching commitment connected to the award, recipients are expected to continue or return to teaching or direct services in the early childhood care and education field after they complete their program of study.

Looking Ahead

  • When 2022-23 applicant data is available for each college to access via the "Student List Eligibility: View" screen of the ECACE system (anticipated to be by the end of July 2022), data will be displayed for all applications listing the institution as the college the student plans to attend (i.e., complete, incomplete and ineligible applications will be included).
  • 2022-23 ECACE Scholarship payment processing is anticipated to commence during the month of August 2022.
  • More information – including announcement of when the 2022-23 "Student List Eligibility:View" screen becomes available, and when 2022-23 claims are being accepted – will be provided over the summer via ISAC's usual means of communication (i.e., the ECACE Scholarship Program News area, the FAA Message Board, and this e-Messaging system).

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.