Who can get a TEACH Grant?

To be eligible for a TEACH Grant, you must do the following:

• Meet the basic eligibility criteria for the federal student aid programs.
• Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form.
• Be enrolled as an undergraduate, post baccalaureate, or graduate student at a school that participates in the TEACH Grant Program.
• Be enrolled in a TEACH-Grant-eligible program.
• Meet certain academic achievement requirements (generally, scoring above the 75th percentile on one or more portions of a college admissions test or maintaining a cumulative GPA of at least 3.25).

  For specific information about the academic requirements, talk to the financial aid office.

• Receive TEACH Grant Counseling that explains the terms and conditions of the TEACH Grant service obligation. You must complete counseling each year that you receive a TEACH Grant.

• Sign a TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve.

What is a TEACH Grant?

The TEACH Grant Program provides grants of up to $4,000 a year to students who are completing or plan to complete course work needed to begin a career in teaching.

“The Budget Control Act of 2011 (the sequester law) requires a reduction in the TEACH Grant award amount for which a student would otherwise have been eligible. For any TEACH Grant with a first disbursement on or after Oct. 1, 2020, and before Oct. 1, 2025, the award amount must be reduced by 5.7 percent. This makes a maximum award of $3,772 ($4,000 x 5.7% = $228).”

• As a condition for receiving a TEACH Grant, you must sign a TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve in which you agree to (among other requirements) teach in a high-need field;
• At an elementary school, secondary school, or educational service agency that serves students from low-income families; and
• For at least four complete academic years within eight years after completing (or ceasing enrollment in) the course of study for which you received the grant.

Note: If you do not meet the requirements of your service obligation, all TEACH Grants you received will be converted to Direct Unsubsidized Loans. You must repay these loans in full, with interest charged from the date of each TEACH Grant disbursement.

Can a TEACH Grant that has been converted to a loan be changed back to a grant?

A TEACH Grant that has been converted to a loan can be changed back to a grant only under limited circumstances. You may request reconsideration of the conversion of your grant to a loan if you can show that you were satisfying your service obligation or that your grant was converted to a loan in error. If you previously asked to have your TEACH Grants converted to loans, but you have now decided to satisfy your service obligation, you may request reconsideration if you would still have time to complete your required four years of teaching within your eight-year service obligation period.

If you believe you qualify to have your loan changed back to a TEACH Grant, you must submit a request for reconsideration of the conversion. You may need to provide documentation to support your request.

If your request for reconsideration is approved, your loan will be changed back to a TEACH Grant and you will once again be responsible for satisfying your TEACH Grant service obligation.”

What is a TEACH-Grant-eligible program?

A TEACH-Grant-eligible program is a program of study that is designed to prepare you to teach as a highly qualified teacher in a high-need field and that leads to a bachelor’s or master’s degree, or is a postbaccalaureate program. A two-year program that is acceptable for full credit toward a bachelor’s degree is considered a program that leads to a bachelor’s degree. A postbaccalaureate program is not TEACH-Grant-eligible if it is offered by a school that also offers a bachelor’s degree in education.

Schools that participate in the TEACH Grant Program determine which of the programs they offer are TEACH-Grant-eligible. A program that is TEACH-Grant-eligible at one school might not be TEACH-Grant-eligible at another school. Additionally, even if a program meets the eligibility requirements to be a TEACH-Grant-eligible program, it may not be designated as TEACH-Grant-eligible by the school.  Contact the School of Education to find out which programs at that school are eligible: https://home.hamptonu.edu/libarts/contact-us/

If I’m interested in receiving a TEACH Grant, where can I get more information?

Contact the financial aid office: https://home.hamptonu.edu/financialaid/contact/.  Contact the School of Education to learn about the programs of study at the school that are TEACH-Grant-eligible: https://home.hamptonu.edu/libarts/contact-us/. You can also review the TEACH Grant PDF below for more information

What are high-need fields?

High-need fields are:

• Bilingual education and English language acquisition,
• Foreign language,
• Mathematics,
• Reading specialist,
• Science, and
• Special education, as well as
• Any other field that has been identified as high-need by the federal government, a state government, or a local education agency, and that is included in the annual Teacher Shortage Area Nationwide Listing (Nationwide List).

If you plan to teach in a high-need field that is included in the Nationwide List, that field must be listed for the state where you teach either at the time you begin your qualifying teaching service or at the time you received a TEACH Grant.

What is a TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve?

Each year that you receive a TEACH Grant, you must sign an Agreement to Serve on the TEACH Grant page on StudentLoans.gov. The agreement explains the terms and conditions for receiving a TEACH Grant. By signing the Agreement to Serve, you agree to these terms and conditions and acknowledge that if you do not fulfill the service obligation described in the agreement, the TEACH Grant funds you received will be converted to a loan that you must repay.

What are the terms and conditions of the TEACH Grant service obligation?

In exchange for receiving a TEACH Grant, you must agree to the following:

• You must serve as a full-time teacher for a total of at least four academic years within eight years after you complete or otherwise cease to be enrolled in the program(s) for which you received TEACH Grant funds.
• You must perform the teaching service as a highly qualified teacher at a low-income school or educational service agency.
• Your teaching service must be in a high-need field.
• You must provide ED with documentation of your progress toward completing your service obligation.
• If you do not meet the requirements of your service obligation, all TEACH Grants you received will be converted to Direct Unsubsidized Loans. You must repay these loans in full, with interest charged from the date of each TEACH Grant disbursement.

How can I identify schools or educational service agencies that serve low-income students?

Elementary and secondary schools (public and private) and educational service agencies serving low-income students are listed in the annual Teacher Cancellation Low-Income Directory. In addition, elementary or secondary schools operated by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) or operated on Indian reservations by Indian tribal groups under contract or grant with the BIE qualify as low-income schools.

Can a TEACH Grant service obligation ever be suspended or canceled?

You may request a temporary suspension of the eight-year period for completing your TEACH Grant service obligation based on the following situations:

• Your enrollment in a TEACH-Grant-eligible program or your enrollment in a program that a state requires you to complete in order to receive a certification or license to teach in that state’s elementary or secondary schools. For example, if you received a TEACH Grant for an undergraduate program and you later enroll in a graduate program for which you would be eligible to receive a TEACH Grant, you could receive a suspension of the eight-year period for completing your service obligation for the undergraduate program while you are enrolled in the graduate program.
• A condition that is a qualifying reason for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act.
• A call or order to active duty status for more than 30 days as a member of the armed forces reserves, or service as a member of the National Guard on full-time National Guard duty under a call to active service in connection with a war, military operation, or national emergency.

Suspensions are granted in one-year increments, not to exceed a combined total of three years for the first two conditions listed above, or a total of three years for the third condition. If you receive a suspension, the eight-year period for completing your service obligation is put “on hold” during the suspension period. For example, if you receive a one-year suspension after two years of the eight-year period for completing your service obligation have elapsed, you would have six years left to complete your service obligation when the one-year suspension period ends.

Your TEACH Grant service obligation may be canceled (discharged) if you die or if you become totally and permanently disabled.

You may also receive a discharge of some or all of your four-year teaching requirement if you are called or ordered to qualifying military active duty for a period that exceeds three years.

As explained in your TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve, you are expected to confirm for the TEACH Grant servicer, FedLoan Servicing, in writing within 120 days of the date when you ceased to be enrolled (graduated or withdrew) from the school where you received a TEACH Grant that you are:

• Employed as a full-time teacher in accordance with the terms and conditions described in the Agreement to Serve; or
• Not yet employed as a full-time teacher but intend to meet the TEACH Grant service obligation.

FedLoan Servicing will notify you when your initial 120-day certification is due.

Note: If you withdraw from school before completing the program of study for which you received a TEACH Grant, and you do not submit this initial certification to FedLoan Servicing within 120 days from the date of your withdrawal, all TEACH Grants you received will be converted to Direct Unsubsidized Loans. You must then repay these loans to ED, with interest charged from the date the TEACH Grants were disbursed. FedLoan Servicing will notify you if your TEACH Grants are converted to Direct Unsubsidized Loans.

Who can answer questions I have about my TEACH Grant annual certification date?

If you have questions about your TEACH Grant certification, contact Loan Discharge and Forgiveness Customer Support at 1-888-303-7817 Monday-Friday 8am-6pm.”