Federal TEACH Grant

Jennifer Schroeder

Iowa State University

Agenda

TEACH Grant Basics

Agreement to Serve

Annual Student Requirements

Grant Converting to a Loan

Post Graduation Grant Servicing

FAO Resources

TEACH Grant Basics

Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education Grant

Undergraduates & Graduates are eligible

Completing coursework to teach in a high need/shortage subject area

Treated as a grant unless the student does not fulfill the service requirements

Must file a FAFSA

Not based on financial need

The Basics Continued…

Eligibility (must meet one of the following)

Score in the 75th percentile or better on any one battery of an admissions exam

PRAXIS does not count

“Life time” eligibility

Have and maintain a cumulative 3.25 GPA

Currently be a certified teacher

Award Amounts

Annual: $3,964 (Those disbursed between Oct. 1, 2013 – Sept. 30, 2014)

Undergrad Cumulative: $16,000

Graduate Cumulative: $8,000

The School’s Responsibility

Confirm eligibility

If awarded on GPA, monitor cumulative GPA each semester

Provide information on annual counseling and Agreement to Serve (ATS) requirements

Provide information upon graduation of exit counseling requirements

The Agreement to Serve (ATS) www.teach-ats.ed.gov

Must complete annually if new grant is awarded annually

Student agrees to:

Teach for 4 out of the 8 consecutive years after program completion AND

Teach in a Title I School (low income) AND

Teach full-time in a high need/shortage subject area

Student acknowledges:

The possibility of the grant converting to a loan

The responsibility to either fulfill the ATS or repay the loan in full with accrued interest

ATS Requirements Title I School (low income)

Determined by the amount of students receiving reduced or free lunches

Traditional more elementary schools than high schools

Determined by school building not school districts

www.tcli.ed.gov

High Need/Shortage Subject Area

Bilingual Education/English Language Acquisition

Foreign Language

Math

Reading

Science

Special Education

Other subject areas designated by individual states if the student plans to teach in that state

ATS Service Period

8 consecutive years may be suspended for one of the following reasons:

Enrollment in a TEACH Grant eligible program or approved teacher certification program

Condition that is a qualifying reason under FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act)

Call to active military duty for more than 30 days as a member of the Armed Forces reserves or National Guard

Approved for a period of a year at a time

Cannot exceed 3 years

Must be requested prior to the grant converting to a loan

Can be discharged for the same reasons as a federal student loan

TEACH Grant Conversion Grant will convert:

If the student fails to fulfill the ATS

No longer has enough time to fulfill the ATS

At their request

Grant converts to a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan

Interest accrues from the original date the grant was disbursed

Interest will be charged based on the Unsubsidized Loan interest rate for the year the grant was disbursed

First disbursed July 1, 2006-June 30, 2013 = 6.80%

First disbursed July 1, 2013-June 30, 2014 = 3.86% for undergrads & 5.41% for grads

Treated as a normal unsubsidized loan

6 month grace period from conversion

Possible loan forgiveness

Does not count toward Direct Stafford Loan aggregate limits

Cannot be converted back into a grant

Automatic Conversion Student ceases to be enrolled before completing the

eligible TEACH Grant program

Within 120 days

Does not notify FedLoan Servicing of their teaching status or if they plan to fulfill the ATS

Within 1 year

Has not applied for or qualified for a suspension OR

Has not reenrolled in a TEACH eligible program OR

Has not begun qualifying teaching service

Student completes their program AND

Does not actively certify their intention to fulfill the ATS

Fails to begin or maintain employment within the required time frame that would allow fulfillment of the ATS

Post Graduation Servicing All TEACH Grants are serviced by FedLoan Servicing

All existing and new TEACH Grant recipients will have their federal loans transitioned to FedLoan

Students will receive communication about transfer

Annually certify teaching obligation

School administrator must certify the student is meeting the ATS requirements

Servicing Continued… FedLoan Servicing will handle

Customer support

Processing application and forms related to ATS fulfillment

Monitor and track progress of fulfillment

Review suspension requests

www.MyFedLoan.org/TEACH

Dedicated website for TEACH Grant recipients and FAOs

Obtain certification information

Answer questions to prepopulate form or download blank form

View all electronica communications

FAOs can view communication templates

FAOs can view FAQs

ATS Fulfillment Examples A four year service obligation must be completed for each

academic program for which a TEACH Grant was received

Example #1: An undergrad student receives TEACH Grant, goes directly into a graduate program and receives more TEACH Grants before beginning any teaching

After completion of the second program, student must complete four years of qualifying teaching service that will fulfill the service requirements for each program

Example #2: An undergrad student receives TEACH Grant, after completing two years of qualifying teaching service, enrolls in TEACH Grant eligible graduate program and receives more grants

After completion of the second program, student must complete four years of qualifying teaching service that will fulfill the service requirements for the second program as well as the remaining two years from the first program

ATS Fulfillment Examples Example #3: An undergrad student receives TEACH

Grant, completes two years of qualifying teaching service, enrolls in a TEACH Grant eligible graduate program, continues to teach full time, and receives more grants

Upon completion of the second program, the ATS for the first program is fulfilled as the two years of teaching while completing graduate school fulfilled the final two years of the first ATS

Upon completion of the second program, student must complete four years of qualifying service to fulfill the requirements of the second ATS

Timeline Student received first TEACH Grant

Receives welcome communications

Informed any federal loans will be transferred

Student receives quarterly or annual interest statements

Refers to “potential” interest if ATS is not fulfilled

Student does not have to pay at that time

Student graduates or leaves program

Student receives request for certification including instructions and deadlines

Student receives follow-up and 60 and 30 day reminders if the certification is not received

Other notification

Certification accepted or declined

Student didn’t follow steps to fulfill ATS

ATS requirements are not fulfilled

Student doesn’t have enough time to fulfill ATS

Student requests to convert the grant to a loan

Resources TEACH Grant Toolkit

www.myfedloan.org/toolkit

Federal TEACH Grant website

www.teach-ats.ed.gov

ATS, Entrance and subsequent counseling, FAQs

Title I School List

www.tcli.ed.gov

Subject Shortage Area List

www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/pol/tsa.pdf

Questions