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 January 21, 2025)

2024-25 Payment
2024-25 Award Determination
2024-25 Program Funding
2024-25 Certification
2024-25 Application
2023-24 Reconciliation – Due to ISAC Notifications
GAP Access Registration

2024-25

Payment

Important dates and reminders for 2024-25 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 2024-25 NES claims for the first (fall for semester and quarter schools) and second (spring for semester schools; winter for quarter schools) terms.
      • In order to be considered timely, claims for the first and second terms must be submitted on or before Monday, March 31, 2025.
    • 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 6 and January 21, colleges may submit to ISAC (via the NES system) 2024-25 NES claims for Term 1 (fall for semester and quarter schools) and Term 2 (spring for semester schools; winter for quarter schools).

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 display on the NES 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 NES 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:

NES Payment
NES Electronic Processing
NES User Guide

Award Determination

As announced in a December 6 e-Message, 2024-25 NES awarding has taken place for all applicants who have been certified as eligible. Award notifications are mailed to all eligible applicants by ISAC.

The maximum award amount and award date for eligible students are available via the Student List Eligibility: View screen of the NES system.

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

Program Funding

The 2025 fiscal year (July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025) appropriation for Nursing Education Scholarships (NES) is $4,000,000.

Certification

An October 1 e-Message announces that colleges may certify 2024-25 NES eligibility via the NES system. The system is available to enter certification data each Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m. (CT).

The 2024-25 NES certification process includes a new field for the college to indicate if a student who is already credentialed in nursing is now pursuing a higher degree. If an award recipient completed a certificate, diploma or degree program for which they received scholarship assistance, and they are now pursuing a higher level of education, they will be considered a new applicant and their maximum available years of assistance will be based on the maximum for the new degree being sought.

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 notification regarding their award status is if the Certification is submitted via the system.

In order to ensure qualified applicants are considered when awarding takes place (anticipated for early November), colleges are encouraged to complete and submit all certifications by October 25, 2024.

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.

Next Steps

2024-25 NES awarding is anticipated to take place in early November.

When 2024-25 NES payment processing becomes available later this year (after awarding has taken place), the following procedures – which were implemented during the 2023-24 processing cycle – will remain in effect:

  • Awarded funds that had been disbursed directly to students as a "stipend" in the 2022-23 and earlier academic years are now included as a living allowance in the scholarship amount requested by and paid to the college.
  • Funds resulting from each payment request submitted via the NES system are 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 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.

Application

The 2024-25 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 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 have been submitted on or before April 30, 2024.

Applicants who submitted an unsigned application prior to the April 30, 2024 deadline are sent a notification of incomplete application.

Further details regarding the application process are provided at the Application Procedures for Nursing Education Scholarships page, and in a March 1 e-Message. Encourage students with questions regarding the application process to contact the ISAC Call Center.

2023-24

Reconciliation – Due to ISAC Notifications

Notifications detailing the outstanding amount that must be refunded to ISAC for 2023-24 Nursing Education Scholarships were e-mailed to financial aid directors in early August. Review the information in the notification and return the appropriate amount – along with a completed Gift Assistance Programs Refund Check Form – no later than September 30, 2024.

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.

GAP Access Registration

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

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

Activating GAP Access Administrator Accounts
Activating GAP Access User Accounts