NETS Work Obligation
After graduation, all NETS recipients are required to begin employment in Pennsylvania.
The employment must be:
- with an employer located within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,
- full-time (as defined by the employer, whether with or without benefits),
- related to a NETS approved program of study, and
- consecutive and begin within one year of completing the program of study for which NETS funds were received.
NETS recipients must:
- work full-time for 12 months for each academic year (2 semesters or 3 quarter terms) of full-time NETS funds received. Each full-time semester award carries a 6-month work obligation and each full-time quarter award carries a 4-month work obligation. Funds received for part-time terms require a proportionally shorter work obligation, and
- provide verification of this employment every six months by submitting the NETS Employment Verification Form (158 KB PDF).
Please note that failure to fulfill this employment obligation will result in the conversion of all or a portion of NETS funds received to a repayable loan with interest, in accordance with the Master Promissory Note that all NETS recipients are required to sign.
A deferment of the NETS work obligation is available for those enrolled full-time in a graduate degree program of study or in continued undergraduate study for those who have not received a bachelor's degree. This enrollment must begin within one year of completion of the undergraduate program for which NETS funds are received and may not exceed six years in duration. To request a Graduate Study Deferment, please complete the NETS Graduate/Undergraduate Study Deferment Request Form (122 KB PDF). This deferment must be verified every six months.