Student Certification Entry Instructions

A certification record is available at My Zone when a complete application is received at ISAC. i.e., if a student tells an FAA that they’ve submitted their TESP application online, a certification record will appear on the Student Certifications: List the following day. After errors have been identified and corrected, the certification record can be submitted online. Hover text is available to describe each field. 

If the Complete Indicator is blank, (there is no date in the Certification Completed column,) click on the Edit icon in the Completed column of the Student Certifications: List screen to display a blank “Student Certification Detail" screen.  To display a completed certification record, click on the Edit icon for students with a checkmark in the Complete Indicator. 

Students, who apply for both IFTC and MTI, are listed twice on the Student Certifications: List screen.  A certification record must be completed and submitted for each program.

When completing IFTC certification records, the MTI fields cannot be accessed (and visa versa).

The first section on the Student Certification Detail screen includes the following fields, which are pre-populated from information on the completed application and cannot be selected or edited:

• SSN
• Name
• Program Applied
• Application Received Date
• Program Preference 
• Date of Birth
• HTSS (IFTC only)
• Applicant Category

Fields To Be Completed by the College or University

The following table contains selectable fields that will be displayed, depending on programs for which the applicant has applied, Also provided, is the corresponding entry values and rules and hover text for each field.

For applicants who applied for both IFTC and MTI, an error message will display if shared data (i.e., Academic level and Term) does not agree on certification records for both programs.

The only fields on the Certification entry screen that need to be completed for students who are ineligible are the Eligible indicator set to "'No" and the Not Eligible Reason(s).  

Field Title	Entry Rule/Value	Hover Text
Academic Level	Selected the appropriate Academic level from the drop-down box. A student must be at the Junior Level or above for IFTC. If a Freshman or Sophomore academic level is selected for an IFTC applicant, an error message will display after the <Submit> option is selected. Freshman Sophomore Junior Senior Graduate	Applicant's Academic Level (check one)
Term (check all that apply)	Check all terms that apply 1st Sem/Qtr 2nd Sem/Qtr 3rd Qtr Summer Term (IFTC only)	Academic Period Applied for (check all that apply)
GPA (IFTC only)	Enter a 3-digit GPA on a 4.0 scale. Do not enter a decimal point. The 3-digit number entered will default to one position before and two positions after the decimal point.	Grade Point Average (use 4.0 scale) (IFTC only)
EFC (IFTC only)	Enter the EFC from part II SAR/ISIR.(Up to 5 digits - 0 to 99999)	Expected Family Contribution (from part II SAR/ISIR)
IFTC TSD’s	Select a TSD from the drop-down box. If a TSD is selected, the Not Pursuing Check box cannot be edited. If “Not Pursuing TSD’s” is selected, the Not Pursuing TSD checkbox will automatically be check.  Not Pursuing TSD Early Childhood Education Bilingual Education Mathematics Reading Science Cross Categorical Emotionally Disturbed (BD/SED) Learning Behavior Specialist I Other/General Special Education (Severe/profound special education, including blind and deaf specialties, and early childhood special education) Speech and Language Impaired A TSD listed with an asterisk* will display only if student received funds in that area in the previous year. Bilingual Special Education English as a Second Language English Language Arts Mental Retardation (EMH/TMH) Music (K-8) Music (High School) Physical Education (K-8) Physical Education (High School) Spanish Specific Learning Disability (LD)	IFTC Teacher Shortage Discipline (TSD) (Check only one TSD, if applicable) * Asterisked TSD applicable only if student received funds in this area in the previous year.
Not Pursuing TSD’s	No entry required. This checkbox is automatically checked when “Not Pursuing TSD” is selected from the TSD drop-down box. This check box cannot be edited.	Not pursuing TSD (Student is seeking initial teacher certification, but is not pursuing certification in a TSD)
IFTC Not Eligible Reason (check all that apply)	Check the appropriate box next to each eligibility criterion that makes the student ineligible. Check all reasons that apply Citizenship Illinois Resident High School Graduate or GED Satisfactory Academic Progress Default/Repayment Anticipated at Least Half-Time Enrollment Junior Level or Above Completed and Filed FAFSA Renewal Applicant Continues to Maintain GPA of a Least 2.5 on a 4.0 Scale Seeking Initial Teacher Certification or ISBE Approval including Alternative Teacher Certification	Student is NOT ELIGIBLE for IFTC for failure to meet the following criteria (check all that apply)
MTI Not Eligible Reason (check all that apply)	Check the appropriate box next to each eligibility criterion that makes the student ineligible. Check all reasons that apply Citizenship Illinois Resident High School Graduate or GED Satisfactory Academic Progress Default/Repayment Anticipated at Least Half-Time Enrollment Maintain GPA of a Least 2.5 on a 4.0 Scale Seeking Teacher Certification including Alternative Teacher Certification Minority	Student is NOT ELIGIBLE for MTI for failure to meet the following criteria (check all that apply)
IFTC Eligible	If the student is eligible for IFTC, be sure that no ineligible reasons are selected.  If the applicant is ineligible for IFTC, be sure to check all ineligible reasons that apply. YES NO
MTI Eligible	If the student is eligible for MTI, be sure that no ineligible reasons are selected.  If the applicant is ineligible for MTI, be sure to check all ineligible reasons that apply. YES NO

Cancel Data Entry

The “Cancel” button at the bottom of the Student Certification Detail screen can be pressed prior to submitting the Certification record to ISAC. If the “Cancel” button is selected rather than submitting it to ISAC, the following will occur:

• The Student Certification Detail screen closes;
• Information is not saved and has to be entered when the record is accessed again; 
• The Complete Indicator column is not marked and the Term column remains blank on the Student Certifications: List screen.  

Submit a Certification Record to ISAC

Click on the “Submit” button at the bottom of the Student Certifications Detail screen after all fields have been entered. The page validation process will check for completeness as well as any errors. Any errors in data entry will be displayed in a popup error message, click “ok” and make the corrections. After all errors have been corrected, click the “Submit” button again, the following popup window will display.

You have indicated you are ready to submit the student certification.  You are encouraged to review all information on this page prior to continuing.  What would you like to do?

Review Information on This Page          Submit Certification

When the "Review Information on This Page" option is selected, it returns the user to the top of the completed “Student Certification Detail" screen to review entry, make changes if necessary, and then select the "Submit" button again. The message box with the option to “Review Information on This Page or Submit Certification” displays again.

When “Submit Certification” is selected, the certification record is sent to ISAC and the following occurs:

• The Student Certification Detail Screen closes;
• On the Student Certifications: List screen, a checkmark will display in the Complete Indicator column,  a date will display in the Certification Complete column and the Term column is populated.

Processing Certification Records

A certification record is created and available for entry after an application is processed.  The Status column on the Student Certifications: List screen will be blank when certification record is available to be completed.

One of the following codes will display in the Status column on the following business day after the certification record is processed.

• U – Unqualified
• Q – Qualified 
• E – Exceeds maximum eligibility units.
• W – Withdrew application
• D – Disqualified
• DW - Disqualified due to withdrawal of the application
• DE – Disqualification due to exceeding maximum eligibility units
• T – Transferred

Corrections to a certification record can be made online when the status code is blank, W, E or U.  Corrections to a certification record cannot be made online after an eligible record has been qualified.  If a status code is Q, D, DW, DE or T, corrections must be made by ISAC. Correction requests can be submitted to ISAC by e-mail, FAX or telephone at:

ISAC
Attention: School Services Department – D2A
1755 Lake Cook Road
Deerfield, IL 60015
FAX: 847.831.8549
School Services: 866.247.2172 (toll free)
e-mail: schoolservices@isac.org

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