Funding Opportunities: TEACH Grant

TEACH Grant

Definitions:

Highly Qualified Teacher
You must perform the teaching service as a highly-qualified teacher, which is defined in federal law. The definition can be found online at https://studentaid.gov/help-center/answers/article/what-is-a-highly-qualified-teacher-for-the-teach-grant-program#ny

Schools Serving Low-Income Students
Schools serving low-income students include any elementary or secondary school that is listed in the Department of Education's Annual Directory of Designated Low-Income Schools for Teacher Cancellation Benefits. To access the Directory, please go to https://studentaid.gov/tcli/

High-Need Fields are the specific areas described below:
• Bilingual Education and English Language Acquisition 
• Foreign Language 
• Mathematics 
• Reading Specialist 
• Science 
• Special Education 
• Other identified teacher shortage areas at the time you begin teaching in that field. These are teacher subject shortage areas (not geographic areas) that are listed in the Department of Education's Annual Teacher Shortage Area Nationwide Listing. To access the listing, please go to http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/pol/tsa.doc.

IMPORTANT REMINDER:

If you receive a TEACH Grant but fail to complete the required teaching service, as explained above, you will be required to repay the full amount of each grant as a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, with interest charged from the date of each TEACH Grant disbursement. 

Eight-Year Service Obligation Facts:

For each TEACH Grant-eligible program for which you received TEACH Grant funds, you must serve as a full-time teacher for a total of at least four academic years within eight calendar years after you complete or withdraw from the academic program for which you received the TEACH Grant. (You must acknowledge each fact by checking the box to the left of each)

Conditions under which your eight-year service obligation could be suspended:

  • You are enrolled in a program of study deemed eligible to receive a TEACH Grant or 
    a program determined to satisfy the requirements for certification or licensure to teach in the State's 
    elementary or secondary schools;
  • You leave your qualifying teaching position for leave under the Family Medical Leave Act; or
  • You are called or ordered to active duty status for more than 30 days and meet the criteria set forth under 10 United States Code 10101. 

A grant recipient must apply for a suspension in writing, on a form approved by the Secretary, prior to being subject to any of the conditions that would cause the TEACH Grant to convert to a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan. Suspensions are granted to eligible individuals in one year increments for a maximum combined total of 3 years. A military suspension ends upon the completion of the military service.

Conditions that could preclude you from completing your eight-year service obligation:

  • Felony conviction;
  • Failure to provide documentation to the U.S. Department of Education on an annual basis confirming that you either still intend to teach or that you are teaching as required.

If you violate your eight-year service obligation, your grant will convert to an interest bearing unsubsidized loan. Teach Grants converted to a loan due to service obligation violation, cannot be converted back to a grant.

You may seek to appeal a grant you believe to be wrongly converted to a loan by contacting the Department of Education's Student Loan Ombudsman's office via their website or by phone at (877) 557-2575.

Consequences of Loan Default:

If your TEACH Grant is converted to a loan and you go into default:

• Principal and interest will be due in full immediately; 
• Holds can be placed on your college records;
• You will not be eligible for additional federal student aid;
• Your account may be turned over to a collection agency;
• Your defaulted loan will be reported to national credit bureaus and your credit rating will be damaged;
• Your federal and state income tax refunds can be withheld and applied to the defaulted student loan balance.

Monthly Loan Repayment Obligation:

If you receive a TEACH Grant but fail to complete the required teaching service, as explained throughout this entrance interview, you will be required to repay the full amount of each grant as a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, with interest accruing from the date of each TEACH Grant disbursement. 
Please refer to the following loan repayment calculation website to estimate your monthly loan repayment obligation. https://studentaid.gov/sa/types/loans/subsidized-unsubsidized

Please complete and return the Entrance Counseling form to the Financial Aid Office

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