Federal TEACH Grant

1. Federal TEACH Grant Jennifer Schroeder Iowa State University

2. Agenda • TEACH Grant Basics • Agreement to Serve • Annual Student Requirements • Grant Converting to a Loan • Post Graduation Grant Servicing • FAO Resources

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. Questions