JB Pritzker, Governor, State of Illinois

Illinois Special Education Teacher Tuition Waiver (SETTW) Program

Program News

(last updated March 1, 2023)

2023-24 Application
2022-23 Certification
2022-23 Award Determination
Enrollment Status Verification (submit 2021-2022 data by November 30, 2022)

2023-24

Application

The application for the 2023-24 Illinois SETTW Program may be accessed 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 March 1, 2023. While applications continue to be accepted at this time, those submitted (i.e., electronically signed or postmarked) after the priority application consideration date will be considered only if available waivers remain after all timely complete applicants have been awarded.

Applicants must log in to the ISAC Student Portal in order to complete the SETTW online application (if they have not already done so, they may create a profile here). Applicants will have the option of electronically signing and submitting the application (preferred method), or they may print and sign the application by hand and then mail it to ISAC.

At this time, student data related to the 2023-24 SETTW application is not appearing for colleges in the SETTW system. This page will be updated when student data becomes available for colleges to view.

The Application Procedures for SETTW page includes details about the application process, including sample acknowledgment notifications.

Refer to the SETTW Program page within the Students & Parents area for assistance with questions you may receive from students regarding the SETTW application process.

2022-23

Certification

Functionality to certify eligibility for 2022-23 Illinois Special Education Teacher Tuition Waiver (SETTW) Program newly-awarded students – as well as transfer students – is available in the SETTW system.

Each of the twelve Illinois public universities with students who were awarded 2022-23 tuition waivers was sent an e-mail on August 17, 2022, indicating that the students’ eligibility must be certified via the SETTW system. Please certify each students’ eligibility no later than Friday, September 23, 2022.

If subsequent 2022-23 SETTW awards are announced, ISAC will send similar e-mail messages to impacted institutions.

Further details are provided at the Tuition Waiver Process page and in the Tuition Waiver Certification Process User Guide.

Award Determination

2022-23 tuition waivers have been awarded in accordance with ISAC Administrative Rules, with priority consideration given to those complete applications postmarked on or before the priority application consideration date of March 1, 2022. Award notifications (dated June 23, 2022) and 2022-23 Illinois Special Education Teacher Tuition Waiver (SETTW) Rights and Responsibilities documents are being mailed to 250 eligible applicants. Letters are sent to all other qualified applicants who are not selected.

Refer to the Determining Awards for SETTW section of this area of the website for more information about the award process, including links to sample award notifications and the Rights and Responsibilities document. The SETTW program provides tuition waivers for attendance at public universities in Illinois. Awards are not subject to annual appropriations by the Illinois General Assembly and the Governor.

Enrollment Status Verification

Verification of award recipients' current enrollment status data is to be completed by the college and returned to ISAC as soon as possible, and all 2021-2022 data must be submitted on or before Wednesday, November 30, 2022. Further details are provided in an October 18 e-Message.

Each fall, colleges are required to verify the enrollment statuses for recipients in the programs with teaching requirements. Verification of enrollment status is required for all recipients who, according to our records, previously received funds from the following ISAC-administered teacher education programs and may have been enrolled at your institution during the prior academic year.

ISAC monitors recipients’ fulfillment of the program requirements because, if recipients fail to meet the applicable requirements, their awards convert to loans that must be repaid. Knowing recipients’ enrollment status, as reported by the colleges, allows ISAC to communicate with recipients who have graduated (or otherwise stopped attending college) regarding the steps they need to take in order to fulfill their teaching requirements. The sooner colleges submit enrollment verification data to ISAC, the sooner ISAC can communicate with impacted award recipients.

Refer to the Enrollment Status Verification page and the Enrollment Status Verification for Teacher Programs User Guide for step-by-step instructions on completing and submitting enrollment status verification and SETTW Tuition Waiver Conversion (TWC) data to ISAC. Details about the teaching requirement, extensions, deferments and repayment are provided in the Students & Parents – After College area of this website, and may be accessed via the "Program Requirements" link that appears in the right-margin menu of this page.