TEACH GRANT PROGRAM

Central Michigan University will participate in the U. S. Department of Education's TEACH Grant Program, which is being implemented for the first time for the 2008-2009 academic year.  The Department of Education will not have final rules and regulations for the program until July 2008.  However, the following preliminary information has been released.  Note that the eligibility criteria and other terms and conditions could change when the rules are finalized.

Note:  You should  consider this source of aid as a grant that has a high potential of turning into a LOAN.  If you are not already committed to teaching a high-need subject in a school serving low-income students, you should not consider this as a possible source of aid.  It is estimated that only 20 percent of students who participate in the TEACH Grant Program will be able to use the funds as grants, while many students will see their funds converted to loans with accumulated interest.

A student who receives $16,000 in TEACH Grants who fails to fulfill the terms of the Agreement to Serve  and Promise to Pay (ATS)  will incur substantial indebtedness.  On a 10-year term, the monthly payments would be $315.60 for a cumulative payment of $37,871.

 

 

Amount of Grant:

The TEACH Grant Program will provide up to $4000 per year ($16,000 total for four-year undergraduate programs; $8,000 total for graduate studies) in grants to students who plan to teach full-time in high-need subject areas at schools that serve students from low-income families.  Grants will be prorated for part-time enrollment.

 

Teaching Obligation:

In exchange for receiving a TEACH Grant, you must agree to serve as a full-time teacher in a high-need field in a public or private elementary or secondary school that serves low-income students (see below for more information on high-need fields and schools serving low-income students). As a recipient of a TEACH Grant, you must teach for at least four academic years within eight calendar years of completing the program of study for which you received a TEACH Grant.  IMPORTANT: If you fail to complete this service obligation, all amounts of the TEACH Grants that you received will be converted to a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan. You must then repay this loan to the U.S. Department of Education. You will be charged interest from the date the grant(s) was disbursed.

 

Student Eligibility Requirements

At Central Michigan University you must:

  • 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 in coursework or plan to complete coursework that is necessary to begin a career in teaching in a high-need subject area in a school serving low-income (Title I) students

  • Have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.25 as a high school graduate and maintain that GPA throughout your academic program (or score above the 75th percentile on a national standardized college admissions test)

  • Complete TEACH Grant counseling and sign a TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve and Promise to Pay each year

  • Be accepted into an eligible degree program.  You may:

  •     Major in education

  •     Major in a high need subject area with the intent of also completing a Master's Degree in Education

  • Undergraduate students are eligible only if they are pursuing their first undergraduate degree.  Students pursuing a second undergraduate degree, or teachers working on teacher certification are NOT eligible for the TEACH Grant.

  • NOTE:  Elementary school teachers who teach many subjects would not be able to fulfill their service agreement.

 

High-Need Field

High-need fields are the specific subject areas identified below –

·                          Bilingual Education and English Language Acquisition.

·                          Foreign Language.

·                          Mathematics.

·                          Reading Specialist.

·                          Science.

·                          Special Education.

·                          Other identified teacher shortage areas as of 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 at http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/pol/tsa.doc.

 

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 at https://www.tcli.ed.gov/CBSWebApp/tcli/TCLIPubSchoolSearch.jsp.

Teach Grant Agreement to Serve

Each year you receive a TEACH Grant, you must sign a TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve  and Promise to Pay (service agreement), which will be available electronically on a Department of Education Web site. The TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve 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 disbursed. Specifically, the TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve will provide that –

·                          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.  If the grant is converted to a loan, it cannot be converted back to a grant.

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  • TO APPLY

  • Students who may be interested in receiving a TEACH Grant should complete a 2008-2009 FAFSA.  Additional application instructions will be posted on this site when known.  CMU plans to award the TEACH Grant to eligible students by December, 2008.