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9/19/2008
We are pleased to announce the availability of TESP Payment Online, the new functionality that allows colleges to submit Teacher Education Scholarship Programs (TESP)* payment requests via the My Zone portal. Effective for 2008-09 processing, TESP Payment Online replaces the paper roster process with a secure, electronic method of transmitting claims data for the IFTC and MTI Scholarship programs.
* TESP includes the Illinois Future Teacher Corps (IFTC) and Minority Teachers of Illinois (MTI) Scholarship programs.
Reminder to Regularly View and/or Update Data
In order to ensure timely claims processing, be sure to submit electronic payment requests via the TESP Payment Online system on a regular basis throughout the academic year. The TESP Payment Online system is available each Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. (CT). [Note - the e-Message that was originally sent to partners on September 19th had indicated that the system was available Monday through Friday.]
ISAC anticipates generating TESP payment roster data each Wednesday night during the 2008-09 processing cycle. Consequently, colleges should check TESP Payment Online every Thursday morning to see if they have new rosters available.
Colleges are also encouraged to continue completing and submitting Initial Certifications throughout the year, in order to ensure that their students will be included in any subsequent rounds of awarding that might be scheduled.
Instructions Available Online
More information regarding TESP Payment Online, including detailed instructions, is available via the following locations at collegezone.com:
Security Levels for Accessing Data
Individuals who have been accessing TESP certification and notification data in My Zone can now view the TESP payment screens via TESP Payment Online. It's important to note, however, that the security level for a staff person to request, edit or update TESP payment claims must be set to Level 3 ("Cert Update, Award View, Payment Update") by the My Zone administrator at each college. The My Zone administrator should set user access to Level 1 ("Cert View, Award View, Payment View") for staff who will not be involved in requesting payment, but need to view TESP certification, notification and payment information.
Benefits of Electronic Process
TESP Payment Online streamlines the payment request process for the IFTC and MTI Scholarship programs by allowing colleges to receive and submit payment request rosters electronically via My Zone, as well as update specified fields online for rosters that have not yet been submitted to ISAC. Reducing the number of rosters that are printed and mailed each year results in both financial and environmental benefits.
In addition, the history of all payment requests for the academic year is available to colleges online - again, minimizing the need to print and retain hard copies of rosters.
Watch for future announcements regarding additional enhancements being considered for the TESP Payment Online system, including the ability to print and/or view Payment Authorizations online.
Questions?
If college staff or My Zone administrators have problems gaining access to TESP Payment Online, or have questions regarding the new system, they should contact ISAC's School Services Department as indicated below.
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