ISAC Student PortalNursing Education Scholarship Program (NESP)
Below is information about the Nursing Education Scholarship Program (NESP), the administration of which is currently being transitioned from the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) to ISAC.
NOTE: This program is different from the Nurse Educator Scholarship Program, which is no longer funded and for which no new awarding will take place.
Program News
(last updated May 17, 2023)
2023-24 Application
2022-23 Program Funding
2022-23 Disbursement
2022-23 Certification
2022-23 Application
2023-24
Application
The 2023-24 application for this program is no longer being accepted.
The NESP application period each year starts on March 1 and continues through April 30. To be considered for funds during the 2023-24 academic year, the NESP Application/Promissory Note/Grant Agreement must have been submitted to ISAC on or before April 30, 2023.
Applicants who submitted an unsigned application prior to the April 30, 2023 deadline were sent a notification of incomplete application. Individuals whose applications were still unsigned in early May 2023 were then sent an e-mail informing them that their signed Application/Promissory Note/Grant Agreement must be received at ISAC no later than May 31, 2023, in order to determine their eligibility for an award. Encourage students with questions regarding this process to contact the ISAC Call Center.
Further details regarding the application process are provided at the Nursing Education Scholarship Program Application Procedures page.
What’s Next
Colleges will utilize the GAP Access portal to administer 2023-24 NESP awards. Further details on the certification and payment processing functionalities will be provided on this page as they become available.
2022-23
Program Funding
The 2023 fiscal year (July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2023) appropriation for the Nursing Education Scholarship Program (NESP) is $400,000,000.
Disbursement
Fall Term Disbursement
As announced in a December 8 e-Message, starting in mid-December 2022 NESP recipients were able to access their Grant Agreement/Promissory Notes for signature through the Program Applications & Status Checks area of the ISAC Student Portal. Students are encouraged to sign and submit the Grant Agreement/Promissory Note online for timely processing. Once ISAC is in receipt of the signed agreement, disbursement will proceed. Disbursements to schools follow the same process as in past years, with funds payable by the State Comptroller's office. Checks for scholarship funds will continue to be co-payable to the school and the recipient; stipend payments are remitted directly to recipients.
Fall term disbursements began to take place in January 2023.
Spring Term Disbursement
A May 17 e-Message announces that spring term disbursements began to take place in May 2023. Disbursements to schools follow the same process as in past years, with funds payable by the State Comptroller's office. Checks for scholarship funds will continue to be co-payable to the school and the recipient; stipend payments are remitted directly to recipients.
Certification
Certification of eligibility for the 2023 spring term takes place via the NESP system (located within the GAP Access portal). Certification functionality is currently available, and further details can be found on the NESP Certification page and in the NESP Certification User Guide.
Application
The 2022-23 application for this program is no longer being accepted.
Applicants received notification of their eligibility status from IDPH. Recipients should refer to the awarding statement received from IDPH for award details, including the award amount.
