NESP Program Requirements

TESP Enrollment Status Verification
Teaching Requirement
Extensions
Repayment
Deferments

ISAC monitors recipients’ fulfillment of Nurse Educator Scholarship Program  (NESP) practice agreement. If the recipient fails to meet the teaching requirement, the scholarship converts to a loan. The scholarship program award received must be repaid, prorated according to the fraction of the obligation not completed, plus any reasonable collection costs.

Enrollment Status Verification

At the end of each academic year, colleges are required to verify the enrollment statuses for NESP recipients by submitting a TESP Status Enrollment Verification roster to ISAC.

The TESP Enrollment Status Verification rosters must be completed online at My Zone which is available each Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. (CT).

Refer to TESP Enrollment Status Verification at My Zone for an overview of the process and the TESP Enrollment Status Verification Quick Reference Guide for step-by step instructions for completing and submitting a roster to ISAC.

Teaching Requirement

Prior to receiving scholarship assistance, recipients of the Nurse Educator Scholarship Program (NESP), must sign a Teaching Agreement/Promissory Note that shall include the following stipulations:

• Agree to teach as a nursing educator for five years at an approved program of professional education in Illinois or an approved program of practical nursing education in Illinois;
• Begin teaching as a nurse educator within the one-year following termination from the program of study funded by the scholarship, and continue until the obligation is fulfilled.
• If the student is unable or unwilling to fulfill the teaching commitment, the proceeds convert to a loan, and the recipient must repay the amount of the scholarship(s), prorated according to the fraction of the teaching obligation not completed, plus interest at 5% and any reasonable collection fees.

All scholarship and stipend proceeds must be used for educational expenses. Program recipients agree to provide ISAC with evidence of compliance with program requirements (e.g., respond to annual follow-up questionnaires, etc.).

Extensions

The five-year period to fulfill the teaching requirement may be extended if the recipient is:

• Serving, for not more than three years, as a member of the United States Armed Forces
• Temporarily totally disabled, for not more than three years, as established by the sworn affidavit of a licensed physician
• Actively seeking, but unable to find, employment as a nurse educator at an Illinois institution of higher learning for one continuous period of time—which shall not exceed two years in duration
• Taking additional courses, on at least a half-time basis, needed to obtain certification in a nursing educator program in Illinois

Repayment

If the teaching obligation requirement is not fulfilled, the scholarship (and accompanying stipend) converts to a loan, and the recipient must repay the entire amount of the award prorated to the fraction of the teaching obligation not completed, plus interest at a rate of 5%and any reasonable collection costs.

The repayment period starts and interest begins to accrue on the earliest of the following dates:

• Six months after the first day of the calendar month after the recipient ceases to pursue, on a half-time basis, a course of study leading to certification as a nursing educator;
• The date ISAC is informed that that the recipient does not plan to fulfill the teaching obligation; or
• The day after the latest date upon which the recipient must have begun teaching after completing the nurse educator program for which the assistance was awarded.

The recipient will not be required to repay the scholarship if s/he becomes permanently totally disabled as established by the sworn affidavit of a qualified physician.

Recipients will not be required to repay the scholarship if their representative provides ISAC with a death certificate or other evidence that the recipient has died.

Deferments

If a recipient is required to repay any portion of the scholarship, the repayment period must be completed within 10 years after the scholarship converts to a loan. The repayment obligation may be temporarily postponed if the recipient is:

• Serving, for not more than three years, as a member of the United States Armed Forces
• Temporarily totally disabled, for no more than three years, as established by the sworn affidavit of a licensed physician
• Actively seeking and unable to find full-time employment for one continuous period, not to exceed two years
• Withdrawn from a course of study leading to certification as a nursing educator, but are enrolled full-time in another academic discipline for one continuous period of time, not to exceed three years
• Pursuing a graduate course of study and are enrolled on a full-time basis for one continuous period of time, not to exceed three years

During the time a recipient qualifies for a deferments or an extension, s/he is not required to make payments and interest does not accrue. To qualify for any of the deferments or extensions, the recipient must complete a Request for Extension of Teaching Requirements or Request for Deferment of Repayment form and provide written evidence of eligibility.