JB Pritzker, Governor, State of Illinois

Minority Teachers of Illinois (MTI) Scholarship Program

Program News

(last updated October 3, 2023)

2023-24 Program Funding
2023-24 Payment
2023-24 Award Determination
2023-24 Certification
2023-24 Application
2022-23 Reconciliation – Due to ISAC Notifications (submit 2022-23 outstanding amount due as soon as possible)
Enrollment Status Verification

2023-24

Program Funding

The 2024 fiscal year (July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024) appropriation for the Minority Teachers of Illinois (MTI) Scholarship is $8,000,000.

Payment

As announced in an August 28 e-Message, 2023-24 MTI first-term payment requests can be completed online and submitted electronically to ISAC via the MTI system. In order to be considered timely, first-term payment requests for the 2023-24 MTI Scholarship Program must be submitted on or before Friday, December 29, 2023.

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 MTI 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 MTI 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.

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:

MTI Payment 
MTI Electronic Processing 
MTI User Guide

Award Determination

As announced in an August 18 e-Message, awarding for the 2023-24 MTI Scholarship Program has taken place for all timely renewal applicants who have been certified as eligible. Award notifications will be mailed to all eligible applicants by ISAC, and colleges may view award results on the "Student List Eligibility: View screen" in the MTI system.

Refer to the MTI Award Determination area for more information about the award process, award amount and notifications. Details about the MTI system, including access to the MTI User Guide, are available at the MTI Electronic Processing page.

Certification

A July 11 e-Message announces that colleges may certify eligibility for the 2023-24 Minority Teachers of Illinois (MTI) Scholarship Program via the MTI system. The MTI 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 MTI system when an MTI application is complete. All Certifications available in the MTI 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 MTI system. Be sure to continue completing and submitting Certifications throughout the year, in order to ensure that students will be included in all rounds of awarding that take place.

An overview of the online certification process is available on the Certification Procedures for MTI page. Refer to the MTI User Guide for instructions to enter and submit Certifications to ISAC.

Application

The 2023-24 MTI Scholarship Program application remains available online via the Program Applications & Status Checks area of the ISAC Student Portal.

For priority consideration, the 2023-24 MTI Scholarship application and 2023-24 FAFSA or (if applicable) Alternative Application must have been received by March 31, 2023. Complete applications submitted (i.e., electronically signed or postmarked) after March 31 will be considered for the MTI Scholarship Program only if funding remains after all timely complete applicants have been awarded. The date through which 2023-24 applications will be accepted is dependent upon application volume and available funding. Encourage applicants who have not already done so to submit their applications as soon as possible.

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

The Application Procedures for MTI section includes details about the application process, including sample acknowledgement notifications.

Refer to the MTI Scholarship Program page of the Students & Parents area for assistance with questions you receive from applicants regarding the MTI application process.

2022-23

Reconciliation – Due to ISAC Notifications

Notifications detailing the outstanding amount that must be refunded to ISAC for 2022-23 MTI Scholarships were e-mailed to financial aid directors in August, with a due date of September 29, 2023. While that deadline has passed, outstanding amounts still need to be refunded. If not already done, review the information in the notification and return the appropriate amount – along with a completed Gift Assistance Programs Refund Check Form – as soon as possible.

Details about returning funds to ISAC and the payment offset and reconciliation process are provided in the Refunds and Unpaid Claims section of the Processes area.

Enrollment Status Verification

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 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.