JB Pritzker, Governor, State of Illinois

Post-Master of Social Work School Social Work Professional Educator License Scholarship Program

Program News

(last updated January 19, 2024)

2023-24 Program Funding
2023-24 Payment
2023-24 Awarding
2023-24 Certification
2023-24 Application

2023-24

Program Funding

The 2024 fiscal year (July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024) lump-sum appropriation for the Post-Master of Social Work School Social Work Professional Educator License Scholarship and School and Municipal Social Work Shortage Loan Repayment programs is $6,000,000.

Payment

Important dates and reminders for 2023-24 Post-Master of Social Work School Social Work Professional Educator License 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 spring term.
      • The spring-term priority claim deadline date will be announced once it has been determined.
    • Although the fall-term priority claim deadline date was December 29, 2023, ISAC is continuing to accept and pay fall-term claims.
    • 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 a January 19 e-Message, colleges may submit 2023-24 fall- and spring-term claims to ISAC via the Social Work Scholarship Program (SWSP) system.

Submitting payment requests is a two-step process, which involves generating the request (either individually or in a batch) and then submitting the request.

Payment results display on the SWSP Student Payment List: View screen and on the Payment Results/Exception report the day after payment requests are processed. After submitting claims, colleges are encouraged to always review the Payment Results/Exceptions report. Retain a copy of the report for each payment request submitted, so that the invoice number on the report can be matched with voucher data and the funds received from the State Comptroller's Office.

A report for tracking payment vouchers and warrants is available via the SWSP system. The report (which may be accessed via the Reports section, and is identified by the same red PDF icon that appears with the "Payment Results/Exceptions" report) provides payment voucher and warrant information, dependent upon where the payment is in the process.

  • Once ISAC processes a payment request and sends it to the State Comptroller, the report will appear with the following title format: (Program) Voucher INV mm-dd-yyyy SCH xxx.
    • At this time, the "WARRANT NO." and "WARRANT DATE" fields on the report will be blank.
  • The last page of the report provides invoice information, including the amount due to the school and the invoice number.
    • This same invoice number also will be referenced on the voucher from the State Comptroller, authorizing payment.
  • The voucher number will be referenced on the check (payment).
  • The "WARRANT NO." and "WARRANT DATE" fields will populate on the report after the State Comptroller has authorized payment for the voucher.
    • Once this happens, the title format will be: (Program) Warrant INV mm-dd-yyyy SCH xxx.

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 Post-Master of Social Work School Social Work Professional Educator License Scholarship Program resources on ISAC's website:

Payment
Electronic Processing
User Guide

Awarding

Awarding for the 2023-24 Post-Master of Social Work School Social Work Professional Educator License Scholarship Program took place in mid-November 2023 for all timely applicants who have been certified as eligible. Award notifications are being mailed to all eligible applicants by ISAC, and colleges may view award results on the "Student List Eligibility: View screen" in the Social Work Scholarship Program (SWSP) system.

Refer to this program's Awarding area for more information about the awarding process (including student notifications and award amounts). Details about this program's system, including access to the user guide, are available at the Post-Master of Social Work School Social Work Professional Educator License Scholarship Program Electronic Processing page.

Certification

On October 11, 2023, colleges participating in the Post-Master of Social Work School Social Work Professional Educator License Scholarship Program received an e-mail from ISAC’s School Services area announcing that the eligibility certification process for this program has been implemented. The system is open for institutions to certify applicants' eligibility for the 2023-24 academic year, including the 2024 summer term (Term 3).

What's New for 2023-24 Certification

  • An "Anticipated Date of Program Completion" field has been added to the Certification Data screen to track program length.
  • A "Has not been continuously enrolled" option has been added to the Ineligible drop-down menu for applicants who fail to remain continuously enrolled in an approved program that qualifies them for the scholarship.

For more information about the certification process of this program, refer to the Certification page and the user guide.

Application

Students may access the application for the 2023-24 Post-Master of Social Work School Social Work Professional Educator License Scholarship Program online via the Program Applications & Status Checks area of the ISAC Student Portal.

The priority application consideration date for the 2023-24 academic year was August 28, 2023. Complete applications submitted after that date will be considered only if available funding remains after all timely complete applicants have been awarded.