Early Childhood Access Consortium for Equity (ECACE) Scholarship Program

Program News

(last updated June 2, 2026)

2026-27 Application
2025-26 Program Funding
2025-26 Payment
2025-26 Awarding
2025-26 Certification
2025-26 Student List
2025-26 Applications

2026-27

Application

The 2026-27 ECACE Scholarship Program application remains available via the Program Applications & Status Checks area of the ISAC Student Portal.

Alongside the ECACE application, students are required to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) or, if applicable, Alternative Application for Illinois Financial Aid (Alternative Application) for the same academic year that they are applying for the scholarship.

The ECACE application and the FAFSA or Alternative Application (if applicable) must be completed and submitted on or before the priority consideration date which, for the 2026-27 application, was Sunday, May 31, 2026. Applications received after that date may still be considered for an award if scholarship funds are still available after all on-time eligible applicants have been awarded.

Further details, including proof of employment requirements, are provided in the Application Procedures for the Early Childhood Access for Consortium for Equity Scholarship Program page.

What's Next

Colleges will be notified when 2026-27 eligibility data and certification functionality become available in the ECACE system later this year.

2025-26

Program Funding

The 2026 fiscal year (July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2026) appropriation for the Early Childhood Access Consortium for Equity (ECACE) Scholarship Program is $5,000,000.

Payment

Important dates and reminders for 2025-26 ECACE Scholarship payment processing:

  • As part of our ongoing efforts to best leverage appropriated funds to award as many eligible students as possible, priority payment request (claim) deadline dates were established for each term.
    • A June 2 e-Message provides 2025-26 year-end updates:
      • ISAC will continue to accept 2025-26 ECACE Scholarship initial claims and increases to previously submitted claims for all terms through (including) Wednesday, July 1, 2026.
      • Adjustments to cancel or reduce previously submitted ECACE Scholarship claims will continue to be accepted for all terms through (including) Thursday, July 30, 2026.
      • Effective Friday, July 31, 2026, 2025-26 data in the ECACE system will become available for historical view only.
  • 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 first-term (fall) priority claim deadline was December 31, 2025.
    • The second-term (spring semester and winter quarter) priority claim deadline was March 30, 2026.
    • The third-term (spring quarter) priority claim deadline was May 8, 2026.
  • The timely submission of claims and cancellations/adjustments allows ISAC staff to monitor remaining funds and award other students, as applicable.

2025-26 ECACE Scholarship claims for awarded students are completed online by the college and submitted electronically to ISAC via the ECACE system.

By submitting a payment request to ISAC via the ECACE system, a college is confirming that the student is enrolled and continues to meet all eligibility criteria. If a college determines that an applicant does not meet all eligibility requirements, they report the reason for ineligibility via the ECACE system.

Due to limited funding, the 2025-26 ECACE Scholarship maximum annual award is the lesser of: $7,500 or the cost of attendance after other aid is considered. The maximum award amount that may be claimed during the academic year is populated in the "Max Annual Award Amount" field of the ECACE system. There are no term award limits for this program – colleges must determine the term award amount(s) based on other financial aid the student is receiving, keeping in mind that the ECACE Scholarship is last payer and can be used for any cost of attendance component.

Schools are encouraged to submit payment requests for awarded students as soon as possible. The timely submission of payment requests allows ISAC staff to monitor program funding levels and ensure that available dollars are best leveraged to award as many scholarships as possible without exceeding the appropriation.

Submitting payment requests is a two-step process, which involves generating the request and then submitting the request. Submit claims for individual ECACE Scholarship recipients via the "Student Detail: Payment" screen or in batches for a group of students via the "Payment Request Entry" screen.

Payment results are available in the ECACE system each morning. A Payment Result Summary and Invoice Detail Report can be viewed or printed by selecting the report tab in the ECACE system. The report includes Payment Results and Payment Exceptions as well as Invoice Detail about the payment claim. The Payment Results/Exceptions report should be reviewed regularly to see which requests, if any, did not process as expected.

The disbursement of funds is processed by the State Comptroller's Office. Allow four to six weeks for payment processing (i.e., from the date a claim is submitted until funds are received at the college). Refer to the State Comptroller's Website page for information on how to track payment.

For more information, refer to the following resources on ISAC's website:
ECACE Payment
ECACE Electronic Processing
ECACE User Guide

Awarding

As announced in an August 28 e-Message, awarding has taken place for 2025-26 ECACE Scholarship applicants based on certification records that were completed by the colleges before August 28, 2025. Renewal and new applicants were awarded. Award notifications are being delivered to awarded students by ISAC. Colleges may access 2025-26 eligible award information, including funded or unfunded status, using the ECACE system. Award results may be viewed on the "Student List Eligibility: View" screen.

Certification

A June 11 e-Message announces that colleges may access the "Certification List: View" screen within the ECACE system to certify eligibility for 2025-26 ECACE Scholarships. A certification record is created in the ECACE system after ISAC determines that the ECACE online application process has been completed (this includes: the ECACE application; the corresponding year's FAFSA or, if applicable, the Alternative Application; and, any required documentation) and the applicant meets all initial eligibility requirements (i.e., requirements other than those that must be verified by the college). Only records that need to be certified display on the "Certification List: View" screen.

For the 2025-26 certification process:

  • Colleges will be asked to indicate if a student meets program eligibility criteria by selecting either "Yes" or "No."
    • If "No" is selected, the college must select a reason that best describes why the student is considered ineligible.
  • If the student was not paid benefits in 2024-25, the college will be asked if the student is close to completion of their program.
    • The options are either "Yes" or "No."
    • "Close to completion" is defined as 30 credit hours or less.
    • Colleges will only have to provide this information for applicants who received ECACE Scholarship funds in years prior to 2024-25.

Further details regarding the certification process are provided on the ECACE Certification page, as well as in the ECACE User Guide.

Student List

Colleges may view a listing of ECACE records by accessing the ECACE system and selecting the Student tab to display the "Student List Eligibility: View" screen. Records for applicants who listed the institution on their applications and whose applications have been reviewed by ISAC staff for completeness will be included.

Further details are provided in the ECACE User Guide.

Applications

The 2025-26 ECACE Scholarship Program interactive application is no longer being accepted.

The ECACE application and the FAFSA or (if applicable) Alternative Application must be completed and submitted on or before the priority consideration date which, for the 2025-26 application, was Monday, May 19, 2025. Applications received after that date will continue to be given consideration as long as funding remains available after all timely, qualified applicants have been awarded.

Further details, including proof of employment requirements, are provided at the Application Procedures for the Early Childhood Access Consortium for Equity Scholarship Program page.

What's New

A March 31 e-Message announces that, while most program details remain the same, as part of the certification process, colleges will have the ability to confirm if an applicant has 30 credit hours or less needed to graduate. This information then will come into play during the awarding process, which will prioritize applicants as indicated below.

  1. Renewal status – eligible applicants who were awarded and received ECACE Scholarship funds during the 2024-25 academic year will receive first priority, followed by eligible applicants who were awarded and received ECACE Scholarship funds during the 2023-24 academic year (but not during the 2024-25 academic year).
  2. Proximity to graduation – if funding remains after all applicants who meet the “renewal status” criteria have been awarded, then eligible applicants who are within 30 credit hours of graduation (as certified by the college) will be awarded, as funds permit.
  3. Financial need – if funding remains after all applicants who meet the “renewal status” and “proximity to graduation” criteria have been awarded, then any remaining funds will be awarded to applicants with the highest financial need.

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