Nursing Education Scholarship (NES)

Program News

(last updated August 3, 2026)

2026-27 Program Funding
2026-27 Certification
2026-27 Application
Enrollment Status Verification
GAP Access Registration

2026-27

Program Funding

The 2027 fiscal year (July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027) appropriation for Nursing Education Scholarship (NES) is $4,000,000.

Certification

A May 11 e-Message announces that colleges may certify 2026-27 NES eligibility via the NES system. The system is available to enter certification data each Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m. (CT).

A certification record is created in the system when an NES application is complete. All certification records available in the system must be completed regardless of whether the school certifies a student as eligible or ineligible. The only way an applicant will receive notification regarding their award status is if the certification data is submitted via the system.

In order to ensure qualified applicants are considered when awarding takes place later this year, colleges are encouraged to complete and submit all certifications as soon as possible.

An overview of the online certification process is available on the NES Certification page. The NES User Guide – which will soon be updated to reflect the 2026-27 processing cycle – also provides details regarding functionality to certify student eligibility for this program.

Next Steps

When 2026-27 NES payment processing becomes available later this year (after awarding has taken place), the following procedures will remain in effect:

• Any funds awarded as a living allowance are included in the scholarship amount requested by and paid to the college.
• Funds resulting from each payment request submitted via the NES system are delivered to the college in a lump sum (either electronically or as a check, depending on how the college has set up their payments), rather than as individual checks for each student.
• Payment Offset and Reconciliation procedures apply to this program.
  • Refund checks should not be sent for cancellations/adjustments made throughout the award year.
  • Funds should only be returned to ISAC after a final reconciliation has been completed at the end of the regular school year.

Application

The Nursing Education Scholarship (NES) application is no longer being accepted.

The NES application period each year typically starts on March 1 and continues through April 30. To be considered for funds during the 2026-27 academic year, the NES Application/Work Agreement/Promissory Note must have been submitted on or before the extended deadline of Sunday, May 31, 2026. Applicants also had until May 31, 2026 to submit their 2026-27 FAFSA. Further details are provided at the NES Application Procedures page.

Enrollment Status Verification

NOTE: ISAC is now requesting NES enrollment status verification data.

Verification of award recipients' current enrollment status data is to be completed by the college and returned to ISAC as soon as possible. In order to be considered timely, all 2024-25 data must have been submitted on or before Thursday, May 7, 2026. Further details were provided in an April 8 e-Message.

Colleges are required to verify the enrollment statuses for recipients in programs with work requirements. Verification of enrollment status is required for all recipients who, according to our records, previously received funds from certain ISAC-administered programs and may have been enrolled at your institution during the prior academic year.

ISAC monitors recipients’ fulfillment of the program requirements because, if recipients fail to meet the applicable requirements, their awards convert to loans that must be repaid. Knowing recipients’ enrollment status, as reported by the colleges, allows ISAC to communicate with recipients who have graduated (or otherwise stopped attending college) regarding the steps they need to take in order to fulfill their program requirements. The sooner colleges submit enrollment verification data to ISAC, the sooner ISAC can communicate with impacted award recipients.

Refer to the Enrollment Status Verification page and the Enrollment Status Verification User Guide for step-by-step instructions on completing and submitting enrollment status verification data to ISAC. Details about requirements, extensions, deferments and repayment are provided in the Students & Parents – After College area of this website, and may be accessed via the "Program Requirements" link that appears in the right-margin menu of this page.

GAP Access Registration

All NES-participating colleges must register in the ISAC Gift Assistance Programs (GAP) Access portal for NES administration.

Instructions for registering in GAP Access are provided in the user guides listed below:

Activating GAP Access Administrator Accounts
Activating GAP Access User Accounts