JB Pritzker, Governor, State of Illinois

Nursing Education Scholarships (NES)

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 March 1, 2024)

2024-25 Application (2024-25 applications due April 30)
2023-24 Program Funding
2023-24 Payment
2023-24 Award Determination
2023-24 Certification
2023-24 Application
GAP Access Registration

2024-25

Application

Students may access the NES application via the Program Applications & Status Checks area of the ISAC Student Portal.

The NES application period each year starts on March 1 and continues through April 30. To be considered for funds during the 2024-25 academic year, the NES Application/Work Agreement/Promissory Note – along with either the 2024-25 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) or the 2024-25 Alternative Application for Illinois Financial Aid (Alternative Application) – must be submitted on or before Tuesday, April 30, 2024.

Further details are provided at the Application Procedures for Nursing Education Scholarships page, and in a March 1 e-Message.

2023-24

Program Funding

The 2024 fiscal year (July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024) appropriation for Nursing Education Scholarships (NES) is $4,000,000.

Payment

Important dates and reminders for 2023-24 NES 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 2023-24 NES claims for the fall, winter, and spring terms.
      • The priority claim deadline dates for the fall, winter and spring terms will be announced once they have been determined.
    • 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 December 14, December 27, and January 19, colleges may submit 2023-24 claims for the fall, winter and spring terms to ISAC via the NESP system.

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

Payment records that have been saved will display a Status of "U." Payment records that have been submitted will display a Status of "S." Only records with a Status of "S" will receive payment results.

Payment results will display on the NESP Student Detail: Payment screen the day after payment requests are processed. In addition, a Payment Result Summary and Invoice Detail Report can be viewed or printed by selecting the Report tab in the NESP system the day after a payment request has been processed. The report includes Payment Results, Payment Exceptions and Invoice Detail about the payment claim. The Payment Results/Exceptions report should be reviewed the day after submitting payment requests to see which requests, if any, did not process as expected.

Payment requests are processed on a nightly basis every weekday, with results available in the NESP system the following day.

The disbursement of funds is processed by the State Comptroller's Office. Refer to the State Comptroller's Website page for information on how to track payment.

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

NES Payment
NES Electronic Processing
NES User Guide (includes the 2023-24 payment process)

Award Determination

As announced in a November 29 e-Message, 2023-24 NES awarding has taken place for all applicants who have been certified as eligible. Award notifications are mailed to all eligible applicants by ISAC.

As of early December, the maximum award amount and award date for eligible students are available via the Student List Eligibility: View screen of the NESP system.

Refer to the NES Award Determination area for more information about the awarding process, award amounts and notifications. Details about the NESP system are available at the NES Electronic Processing page.

Certification

A September 21 e-Message announces that colleges may certify 2023-24 NES eligibility via the NESP system. The system is available to enter certification data each Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m. (CT).

A Certification record is created in the system when an NES application is complete. All Certifications available in the system must be completed regardless of whether the school certifies a student as eligible or ineligible. The only way an applicant will receive a notification letter is if the Certification is submitted via the system.

An overview of the online certification process is available on the NES Certification page. The NES User Guide also provides details regarding functionality to certify student eligibility for this program.

What’s Next: Upcoming Changes Related to Payment

When 2023-24 NES payment processing becomes available later this year (after awarding has taken place), the following changes will be in effect:

  • Awarded funds that had been disbursed directly to students as a "stipend" in the 2022-23 and earlier academic years will now be included in the scholarship amount requested by and paid to the college (i.e., NES awards will no longer have a stipend component).
  • Funds resulting from each payment request submitted via the NESP system will be delivered to the college in a lump sum (either electronically or as a check, depending on how the college has set up their payments), rather than as individual checks for each student.
  • Payment Offset and Reconciliation procedures now apply to Nursing Education Scholarships.
    • Refund checks should not be sent for cancellations/adjustments made throughout the award year.
    • Funds should only be returned to ISAC after a final reconciliation has been completed at the end of the regular school year.

Colleges utilize the GAP Access portal to administer 2023-24 NES awards. This page, as well as the NES User Guide, will be updated once payment processing functionalities are available.

Application

The 2023-24 application for this program is no longer being accepted.

The NES 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 NES 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.

GAP Access Registration

All NESP-participating colleges must register in the ISAC Gift Assistance Programs (GAP) Access portal for NESP administration.

Instructions for registering in GAP Access are provided in the user guides listed below:

Activating Your GAP Access Primary Administrator Account
Activating Other GAP Access Administrators