What is the Teach Grant Program?
Through the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007, Congress created the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Program that provides grants of up to $4,000 per year to students who intend to teach in a public or private elementary or secondary school that serves students from low-income families. Students that have declared education as their intended major, submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and meet the criteria for eligibility are automatically considered for the TEACH Grant.
Award Amounts
The TEACH Grant may be combined with other Title IV assistance, but may not exceed the total cost of attendance. Students may receive up to $4000; however the grant is prorated for part-time attendance.
- Up to $4000 per year for first undergraduate not to exceed $16,000 aggregate
- Up to $4000 per year for graduate students – not to exceed $8000 aggregate
- 12 or more hours $4000 maximum $2000 per term
- 11-9 hours $3000 maximum $1500 per term
- 8-6 hours $2000 maximum $1000 per term
- 5-3 hours $1000 maximum $ 500 per term
Criteria for Eligibility
- Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), although you do not have to demonstrate financial need.
- Be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen.
- Be enrolled as an undergraduate, post-baccalaureate, or graduate student in a postsecondary educational institution that has chosen to participate in the TEACH Grant Program.
- Be enrolled in coursework that is necessary to begin a career in teaching or plan to complete such coursework. Such coursework may include subject area courses (e.g., math courses for a student who intends to be a math teacher).
- Meet certain academic achievement requirements (generally, scoring above the 75th percentile on a college admissions test or maintaining a cumulative GPA of at least 3.25).
- Sign a TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve (see below for more information on the TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve).
What is the Agreement to Serve?
- 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 completed or withdrew from the academic program for which you received the TEACH Grant.
- You must perform the teaching service as a highly-qualified teacher at a low-income school. The term highly-qualified teacher is defined in section 9101(23) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 or in section 602(10) of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act.
- Your teaching service must be in a high-need field.
- You must comply with any other requirements that the Department of Education determines to be necessary.
- If you do not complete the required teaching service obligation, TEACH Grant funds you received will be converted to a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan that you must repay, with interest charged from the date of each TEACH Grant disbursement.
Confirming Your Teach Grant
- Complete Entrance Counseling at TEACH Grant initial and subsequent counseling
- Sign an Agreement to Serve (ATS) The Agreement to Serve located at TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve or www.teach-ats.ed.gov/. The Teach Grant is normally available three days after the completion of the Entrance Counseling.
- Students that have not officially declared Education as their major must submit the Affidavit of Intent to Teach. The AFIT must be signed by the student and an academic advisor in the TSU Education Department.
Criteria for disbursement of funds
The Teach Grant will not disburse to your account until the Entrance Counseling and Agreement to Serve have been completed. The student must inform the Office of Student Financial Assistance in writing within 14 days if the student no longer wants the funds after they have disbursed to their student account. After 14 days the student is required to contact the Direct Loan Servicing Department at the U. Department of Education to obtain directions on submitting a payment. Once the funds have disbursed to the student’s account, the student must fulfill the four-year teaching obligation or the loan will convert into a Federal Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loan.
Additional information is available at the following websites.
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