| Teacher
Education Assistance for College and Higher Education Grant (TEACH
Grant)
The new Teacher Education Assistance
for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Program provides
up to $4,000 per year in grants for graduate and undergraduate students
who intend to teach full-time in high-need subject areas for at
least four years at schools that serve students from low-income
families.
- Undergraduate study: up to $4,000 per year for first baccalaureate
\ to a maximum of $16,000
- Post-baccalaureate study: up to $4,000 per year for first post-baccalaureate
teacher certification program, up to remaining balance of undergraduate
maximum
- Graduate study: up to $4,000 per year for a Master’s degree
to a maximum of $8,000
If you fail to complete the 4-year teaching obligation within 8 years of completing
or ceasing your program of study, you will have to repay the grant with interest.
Availablility
The first TEACH Grants will be awarded to eligible students for the
2008-09 school year. The U.S. Department of Education published the
final rules for the TEACH Grant Program on June 23, 2008 with implementation
beginning on July 1, 2008.
Student Eligibility Requirements
To receive a TEACH Grant you must:
- Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA),
although you do not have to demonstrate financial need as with
most other federal programs.
- Meet the general eligibility requirements for federal student
aid (listed at http://www.fhsu.edu/finaid/policies.shtml).
- Be enrolled in a program of study designated as TEACH Grant-eligible.
Eligible programs are those that prepare a student to teach in
a high-need area. For example, a bachelor’s program with
a math major could qualify for a student who intends to be a math
teacher. See high need field section below majors specific to
FHSU.
- Sign a TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve at
https://teach-ats.ed.gov/ats/index.action
and respond to requests
by the U.S. Department of Education confirming your continuing
intention to meet the teaching obligation.
- Complete TEACH Grant counseling.
- For undergraduate programs, meet one of the following academic
achievement requirements:
- Score above the 75th percentile on a college admissions
test (e.g. SAT, ACT, GRE), or
- Graduate from high school with a cumulative GPA of at least
3.25 (on a 4.0 scale) to receive a grant as a freshman; or
- Have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.25 (on a 4.0 scale)
through the most recent payment period on your college coursework
to receive a grant for each subsequent term.
- For graduate programs, meet one of the following academic standards:
- Score above the 75th percentile on a college admissions test (e.g. SAT, ACT, GRE), or
- Have an undergraduate cumulative GPA of at least 3.25 (on a 4.0 scale) to receive a
grant in the first term, or
- Have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.25 (on a 4.0 scale) through the most recent
term in the Master's degree program for subsequent payments; or
- Be a current teacher or be a retiree from another occupation with expertise in
a high-need field, enrolled in a Master's degree program; or
- Be a former teacher pursuing an alternative route to certification within a Master's
degree program.
TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve and Promise to Pay
Each year you receive a TEACH Grant, you must sign a TEACH Grant Agreement
to Serve and Promise to Pay (service agreement) that will be available
electronically on a Department of Education Web site. The TEACH Grant
service agreement specifies the conditions under which the grant will
be awarded, the teaching service requirements, and includes an acknowledgment
by you that you understand that if you do not meet the teaching service
requirements you must repay the grant as a Federal Direct Unsubsidized
Loan, with interest accrued from the date the grant funds were first
disbursed.
Teaching Obligation
To avoid repaying the TEACH Grant with interest you must be a highly-qualified,
full-time teacher in a high-need subject area for at least four years
at a school serving low-income students. You must complete the four
years of teaching within eight years of finishing the program for
which you received the grant. You incur a four-year teaching obligation
for each educational program for which you received TEACH Grant funds,
although you may work off multiple four-year obligations simultaneously
under certain circumstances. Specific definitions of these terms are
included below.
Highly-Qualified Teacher
You must perform the teaching service as a highly-qualified teacher,
which is defined in federal law at
http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/pg107.html.
Full-Time Teacher
You must meet the state's definition of a full time teacher and spend
the majority of your time teaching one of the high-need subject areas.
Elementary teachers who teach many subjects would not be able to fulfill
their service agreement.
High-Need Field
- Bilingual Education and English Language Acquisition
- Foreign Language
- Mathematics
- Reading Specialist
- Science
- Special Education
- Other teacher shortage areas documented as high-need by the Federal government,
a State government, or a local education agency, approved by the U.S. Department of
Education, and listed in the Department of Education's Annual Teacher Shortage Area
Nationwide Listing (
http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/pol/tsa.html) at the time you
begin your teaching service.
Fort Hays State University considers the following programs to be TEACH Grant eligible as
High Need subject areas:
- Undergraduate Teaching Programs in Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry,
Earth and Space, Physics, Physical Science
- Graduate Programs in English as Second Language (ESOL), Special
Education (SPED) -Gifted and Adaptive Tracks, and Reading Specialist
More information about Fort Hays State University teacher education programs can be found at
http://www.fhsu.edu/te/.
Schools Serving Low-Income Students
Schools serving low-income students include elementary or secondary
schools listed in the
Department of Education’s Annual Directory of Designated Low-Income
Schools for TeacherCancellation Benefits at
https://www.tcli.ed.gov/CBSWebApp/tcli/TCLIPubSchoolSearch.jsp.
A school must be listed at the time service obligation begins.
Documentation
You must respond promptly to any requests for information or documentation
from the U.S. Department of Education, even if they seem repetitive.
These requests will be sent to you while you are still in school as
well as once you are out of school. You will be asked regularly to
confirm that you either still intend to teach or that you are teaching
as required. You must provide documentation to the U.S. Department
of Education at the end of each year of teaching.
If you temporarily cease enrollment in your program of study or if
you encounter situations that affect your ability to begin or continue
teaching, you will need to stay in touch with the U.S. Department
of Education to avoid your grants being converted to loans before
you are able to complete your teaching obligation.
IMPORTANT REMINDER
Failure to complete the teaching obligation, respond to requests for
information, or properly document your teaching service will cause
the TEACH Grant to be permanently converted to a loan with interest.
Once a grant is converted to a loan it can't be converted
back to a grant.
For more information
For more information about the requirements associated with a TEACH Grant, see
http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/TEACH.jsp
For academic advising assistance regarding eligible FHSU teacher programs,
contact:
Dr. Germaine Taggert
College of Education
Rarick Hall
600 Park Street
Hays, KS 67601
785-628-4204
gtaggart@fhsu.edu
For more information about awarding, payment and terms of a TEACH
Grant at Fort Hays State University, contact:
Crystal Bruntz
Financial Assistance Office
Custer Hall
600 Park Street
Hays, KS 67601
785-628-5870
cmbruntz@fhsu.edu
| Financial
Assistance Office |
| Custer Hall |
Phone:
(785) 628-4408 |
| 600 Park Street |
Toll Free:
1-800-628-FHSU (3478) |
| Hays, KS 67601 |
Fax: (785)
628-4014 |
| Title IV Federal Code 001915 |
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