Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
a) All
applicants must complete and file the form the U.S. Department of Education
(ED) designates as an application/promissory note for federal student financial
aid for the purpose of determining the Expected Family Contribution (EFC),
which is used as a selection criterion for this award. (See section 483 of the
Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (
20 USC
1070 a).)
b) A completed ISAC application for the Nurse
Educator Scholarship Program must be postmarked on or before March 1
immediately preceding the academic year for which the scholarship is being
requested, in order to receive priority consideration for an award.
1) Applications are available at qualified
institutions of higher learning, ISAC's web site, and ISAC's Springfield,
Deerfield and Chicago offices.
2)
ISAC will make renewal applications available to all qualified students who
were awarded assistance under this Part during the preceding year.
3) If the application is incomplete, ISAC
will notify the appropriate party. The applicant will then have an opportunity
to furnish the missing information. However, the application will only be
considered for processing as of the date when the application is complete and
received at ISAC's Deerfield office.
c) No recipient may receive scholarship
assistance under this program for more than the equivalent of 8 semesters/16
quarters of full-time enrollment.
d) ISAC shall select the recipients from
among qualified applicants who filed timely applications based on a combination
of the following criteria:
1) Cumulative
grade point averages will be prioritized from highest to lowest. All grade
point averages will be converted to a four-point scale; and
2) Expected Family Contribution (EFC), from
the lowest to the highest.
e) Recipients of assistance under this Part
during the previous academic year shall receive first priority consideration
provided the student:
1) Maintains his or her
status as a qualified applicant, as outlined in Section
2759.20(a).
2) Maintains satisfactory academic progress
as determined by the institution.
3) Has submitted an application on a timely
basis.
f) If all other
criteria are equal, priority consideration will be given to the qualified
applicant who submitted his or her completed application to ISAC on the
earliest date.
g) Prior to
receiving scholarship assistance under this Part, the qualified applicant must
sign a Teaching Agreement/Promissory Note that is submitted to ISAC. The
Teaching Agreement/Promissory Note shall include the following stipulations:
1) the recipient pledges to work as an
educator in an approved program of professional nursing education in Illinois
or an approved program of practical nursing education in Illinois, as certified
by an authorized individual at the approved Illinois institution, for a period
of not less than five years;
2) the
recipient shall begin teaching as a nurse educator within one year following
the termination of the program for which the recipient received assistance
under this Part, and shall teach on a continuous basis for the required five
year period of time;
3) the
teaching requirement will be fulfilled in an approved program of professional
nursing education in Illinois or an approved program of practical nursing
education at an approved institution in Illinois that prepares students for
careers as practical or professional nurses;
4) if the teaching requirement is not
fulfilled, the proceeds received convert to a loan and the recipient must repay
the entire amount prorated according to the fraction of the teaching obligation
not completed, plus interest at a rate equal to five percent and, if
applicable, reasonable collection fees;
5) the recipient agrees to provide ISAC with
evidence of compliance with program requirements (e.g., responses to annual
follow-up questionnaires, etc.); and
6) the recipient promises to use all proceeds
received for educational expenses.
h) A recipient of funds awarded under this
Part shall not be in violation of the agreement entered into pursuant to
subsection (g) during periods in which the recipient:
1) serves, for not more than three years, as
a member of the United States Armed Forces;
2) is temporarily totally disabled, for not
more than three years, as established by the sworn affidavit of a licensed
physician;
3) is actively seeking
but unable to find employment as a nurse educator at an approved Illinois
institution for one continuous period not to exceed two years and is able to
provide evidence of that fact; or
4) is taking additional courses, on at least
a half-time basis, needed to obtain certification in a nursing educator program
in Illinois.
i) If a
recipient is required to repay any portion of the proceeds received, the
repayment period shall be completed within ten years after the scholarship
converts to a loan. This ten-year period may be extended if the recipient:
1) serves, for not more than three years, as
a member of the United States
Armed Forces;
2) is temporarily totally disabled, for not
more than three years, as established by the sworn affidavit of a licensed
physician;
3) is seeking and unable
to find full-time employment, for one continuous period not to exceed two
years, and is able to provide evidence of that fact;
4) withdraws from a course of study leading
to certification as a nursing educator, but is enrolled full-time in another
academic discipline not to exceed three years; or
5) is pursuing a graduate course of study and
is enrolled on a full-time basis for one continuous period of time not to
exceed three years.
j)
During the time a recipient qualifies for any of the extensions listed in
subsection (i), he or she shall not be required to make payments and interest
shall not accrue.
k) A recipient
shall enter repayment status on the earliest of the following dates:
1) the first day of the first calendar month
after the recipient has ceased to pursue a course of study leading to
certification as a nursing educator, but not before six months have elapsed
after the cessation of at least half-time enrollment in such a course of
study;
2) the date the recipient
informs ISAC that he or she does not plan to fulfill the teaching obligation;
or
3) the day after the latest date
upon which the recipient must have begun teaching after completing the nurse
educator program for which the funds were awarded.
l) A recipient shall not be required to repay
the amount of the proceeds received if he or she becomes permanently totally
disabled as established by the sworn affidavit of a qualified physician (see,
e.g., 34 CFR 653.42(k)(1)), or if his or her representative provides ISAC with
a certified death certificate.
