JB Pritzker, Governor, State of Illinois

Early Childhood Access Consortium for Equity (ECACE) Scholarship Program

Program News

(last updated March 1, 2024)

2023-24 Application Processing Pause
2024-25 Program Funding
2023-24 Payment
2023-24 Prequalification
2023-24 Student List Available
2023-24 Applications

2024-25

Program Funding

The ECACE Program has been funded for the last three academic years through federal coronavirus response dollars. It is hoped that the state legislature will consider some level of state funding for the scholarship for the 2024-25 academic year during its spring legislative session. When more information is available, updates will be posted to this page.

2023-24

Application Processing Pause

Because of the amount of funding already committed to students who have been approved for the ECACE Scholarship this academic year, awarding will be paused for applications submitted on or after March 9, 2024. Applications submitted through March 8th will be processed.

Students who apply on or after March 9th will receive a letter indicating that they are not being awarded a scholarship at this time, but that if funding becomes available in the future, additional applications may be considered.

Although the processing of applications is being paused, the application will remain available on this website with a disclaimer that available money for 2023-24 has been committed, and we will only review further applications if additional funding becomes available later this academic year. If a student submits an application on or after March 9th, it will be held for processing unless and until additional funding becomes available.

Applications already submitted or awards that were already made for this academic year are not affected.

Payment

Important dates and reminders for 2023-24 ECACE Scholarship payment processing:

  • As part of our ongoing efforts to best leverage appropriated funds to award as many eligible students as possible, priority payment request (i.e., claim) deadline dates are established for each term. 
    • ISAC is accepting claims for the second (spring semester and winter quarter) and third (spring quarter) terms.
      • In order to be considered timely, 2023-24 ECACE claims for the second- and third-terms must be submitted on or before Friday, March 15, 2024.
    • Although the first-term (fall) priority claim deadline date was December 29, 2023, ISAC is continuing to accept and pay first-term claims.
    • Colleges will be notified when ISAC begins accepting ECACE claims for the fourth (summer) term.
    • Claims submitted after a term's priority claim deadline date will be paid only if funds remain after all timely claims have been paid.
    • The timely submission of claims and cancellations/adjustments allows ISAC staff to monitor remaining funds and award other students, as applicable.

As announced in e-Messages dated August 21 and January 11, colleges may submit (via the ECACE system) 2023-24 ECACE Scholarship first-, second- and third-term claims for students who have completed the prequalification process.

By submitting a payment request to ISAC via the ECACE system, a college is certifying that the student meets all eligibility criteria. If a college determines that a prequalified applicant does not meet all eligibility requirements, they report the reason for ineligibility via the ECACE system.

The maximum award amount that may be claimed during the academic year populates in the "Max Annual Award Amount" field of the ECACE system as part of the prequalification process. Colleges must determine the term award amount(s) based on other financial aid the student is receiving, keeping in mind that the ECACE Scholarship is last payer, is not need-based aid, and can be used for any cost of attendance component.

Applications with Timely New, Timely Renewal, Untimely New and Untimely Renewal designations are all considered complete. Schools are encouraged to submit payment requests for complete prequalified students as soon as possible. The timely submission of payment requests allows ISAC staff to monitor program funding levels and ensure that available dollars are best leveraged to award as many scholarships as possible without exceeding the appropriation.

Submitting payment requests is a two-step process, which involves generating the request and then submitting the request. Submit claims 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.

Payment results are available in the ECACE system each morning. A Payment Result Summary and Invoice Detail Report can be viewed or printed by selecting the report tab in the ECACE system. The report includes Payment Results and Payment Exceptions as well as Invoice Detail about the payment claim. The Payment Results/Exceptions report should be reviewed regularly to see which requests, if any, did not process as expected. Retain a copy of the report for each payment request submitted, so that the invoice number on the report can be matched with the voucher and the funds received from the State Comptroller's Office. After payment requests are processed, vouchers are generated and sent via e-mail to financial aid directors.

The disbursement of funds is processed by the State Comptroller's Office, and payments are made on a monthly basis. 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.

For more information, refer to the following resources on ISAC's website:

ECACE Payment
ECACE Electronic Processing
ECACE User Guide (updated to reflect the 2023-24 processing cycle) 

Prequalification

Prequalification data for the 2023-24 ECACE Scholarship Program – based on the eligibility data reported by the applicants on their applications – is now available in the ECACE system.

Only records for students who have completed the online application process – which includes submitting a complete ECACE Scholarship Program application to ISAC and completing a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) that results in a valid expected family contribution (EFC) – and who meet all initial eligibility requirements (i.e., requirements other than those that must be verified by the college) are considered for prequalification.

Further details are provided at the ECACE Prequalification page, and in an August 2 e-Message. The ECACE User Guide, which may be accessed via the ECACE Electronic Processing page, has been updated to reflect the 2023-24 processing cycle.

Student List Available

A July 13 e-Message announces that colleges may view a listing of ECACE records by accessing the ECACE system and selecting the Student tab to display the "Student List Eligibility: View" screen. Data is displayed for all applications listing the institution as the college the student plans to attend (i.e., complete, incomplete and ineligible based on student-reported data applications are included).

Applications

The 2023-24 ECACE Scholarship Program interactive application is now available via the Program Applications & Status Checks area of the ISAC Student Portal.

Applicants are also required to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) for the same academic year that they are applying for the scholarship.

Both the ECACE application and the FAFSA must be completed and submitted on or before the date for priority access to funding. That date for the 2023-24 application is August 7, 2023. Applications received after that date will be given consideration if funding remains available after all timely, qualified applicants have been awarded.

Further details, including proof of employment requirements, are provided at the Application Procedures for the Early Childhood Access Consortium for Equity Scholarship Program page.

What's Next

New in the ECACE system for the 2023-24 processing cycle (further details will be provided as they become available):

  • The “Academic Level” field will reflect expanded eligibility requirements, which now include graduate students;
  • Ineligible reasons based on graduate status have been removed; and,
  • “Job Title” – a new required field on the application – will display.

Colleges will be notified when 2023-24 eligibility data and prequalification functionality become available in the ECACE system.

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