Section 2759.10  Summary and Purpose

 

a)         The Nurse Educator Scholarship Program is designed to attract capable and promising students to the nursing educator profession. Increasing the number of instructors will allow more students to be educated in the field of nursing. This scholarship also provides an opportunity for individuals interested in making a career change to the nurse educator profession.

 

b)         This Part governs the Nurse Educator Scholarship Program. Additional rules and definitions are contained in General Provisions, 23 Ill. Adm. Code 2700.

 

Section 2759.20  Applicant Eligibility

 

a)         A qualified applicant shall be:

 

1)         a resident of Illinois;

 

2)         a United States citizen or eligible noncitizen;

 

3)         a recipient of at least a bachelor's degree;

 

4)         enrolled or accepted for enrollment on at least a half-time basis in an approved program of professional or practical nursing education at the graduate level at an Illinois institution of higher learning; and

 

5)         maintaining satisfactory academic progress as determined by the institution.

 

Section 2759.30  Program Procedures

 

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 1070a).)

 

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.

 

(Source:  Amended at 33 Ill. Reg. 9769, effective July 1, 2009)

 

Section 2759.40  Institutional Procedures

 

a)         The institution shall submit eligibility information for qualified and certified applicants in sufficient time for ISAC to make award announcements.

 

b)         To provide sufficient time for processing and vouchering through the State Comptroller's Office in Springfield, all payment requests except for summer term must be received by ISAC no later than July 1.  Summer term payment requests must be received no later than July 31.

 

c)         ISAC shall disburse funds in two or three installments, depending on the number of terms financed by the award, except that multiple disbursements shall not be required in cases where the applicant's eligibility is not determined until the final term of the academic year for which the funds are being awarded or when a student is attending only one term and the maximum award does not exceed the student's cost of attendance.

 

d)         Funds shall be remitted by ISAC to institutions on behalf of the recipients.

 

e)         Upon receipt of the funds, the institution shall verify the recipient's enrollment status for the term for which the award was intended. If enrolled, the institution shall then credit the funds to the recipient's account for tuition and fees due and payable. Upon receipt of the funds, if the recipient has withdrawn from enrollment for the terms for which the award was intended, the institution shall return the amount of the payment to ISAC.

 

f)         Award Amount:

 

1)         Nurse educator scholarships are applicable toward tuition and fees.

 

2)         A recipient attending a public institution in Illinois shall receive a scholarship that shall not exceed the cost of tuition and fees at that institution.

 

3)         A recipient attending a private institution in Illinois may receive a scholarship sufficient to pay the cost of tuition and fees, provided the award does not exceed the maximum amount payable to a student enrolled in the most expensive comparable program of study at a public institution.

 

4)         A qualified applicant will also receive a stipend of not more than $10,000 for full-time enrollment. The stipend will be used to cover the cost of attendance, including living expenses. Stipends for recipients enrolled less than full-time will be prorated according to the credit hours taken.

 

5)         The total amount of nurse educator assistance awarded to a qualified applicant in a given academic year, when added to the other financial aid available to the qualified applicant for that year, cannot exceed the cost of attendance.