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Entrance Counselingfor

This counseling session explains:• The Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education

(TEACH) Grant program

• Terms and conditions of the TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve

• Accessing information about low-income schools

• Accessing information about high-need fields

• Requesting a service obligation suspension

• Conditions that could keep the student from completing the service obligation

• When the grant would convert to a loan

• Rights and responsibilities of the recipient if the grant converts to a loan

• How to receive credit for qualified teaching service

• Loan repayment examples

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TEACH Grant Program

• A Federal Grant program that provides up to $4,000 per year for undergraduate and graduate students who intend to teach full-time in high-need subject areas in designated low income schools

• Must be enrolled in an eligible TEACH program as defined by the college

• Undergraduate students: up to four years of grant for a total of $16,000

• Recipients must teach for at least four years within eight years of completing their program

• TEACH Grant reverts to a retroactive unsubsidized loan if the full teaching obligation is not met and the loan can never be converted back to a grant

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Agreement to Serve (ATS)

• You must complete the ATS before receiving TEACH Grant funds

• You must complete an ATS each year you are awarded the TEACH Grant

• You complete the ATS through a US Department of Education website at www.teach-ats.ed.gov

• Your school receives the ATS electronically from the US Department of Education once you have completed it.

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Contents of the Agreement to Serve (Teaching Obligation)

• For each program of study for which you received TEACH Grant funds, you must fulfill a service obligation consisting of the following ...

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Contents of the Agreement to Serve (Teaching Obligation)

• Serve as a full-time elementary or secondary teacher for a total of at least four academic years -– In a low-income school

– As a highly-qualified teacher

– In a high-need field

– The high need field must account for the majority of the subjects you teach each year

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Teaching Obligation, continued…

• The teaching service must occur within eight calendar years after you have completed or ceased to be enrolled in the program for which you received the TEACH Grant

• For example, if you finished your teaching program in 2008, you will have through 2016 to satisfy the four year teaching requirement

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Contents of the Agreement to Serve (Teaching Obligation)

• Upon completion of each year of qualified teaching service, a Chief Administrative Officer where you are employed must provide documentation to the US Department of Education

• THIS IS A YEARLY REQUIREMENT to get credit for qualified teaching

• Comply with any terms, conditions, and other requirements that the Secretary of Education determines to be necessary

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After completing your teaching program or ceasing to be enrolled you must notify the US Department of Education YEARLY (within 120 days after first ceasing enrollment) of your intent to satisfy the teaching service requirement within the eight year limit even if--

– you are not teaching in a qualified high-need area, or

– you are not teaching at a designated low-income school, or

– you are not teaching at that time

Failure to do so will convert the grant to a loan

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Agreement to Serve, continued...

• Provides definitions of – Definition of Teacher

– Elementary and Secondary School

– Elementary or Secondary academic year

– Full-time teacher

– Highly-qualified teacher

– High-need field

– Low income school

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Definition of Teacher

For purposes of the TEACH Grant program, a teacher is someone who provides direct classroom teaching or classroom-type teaching in a non- classroom setting in an elementary or secondary school.

Elementary or Secondary School

• An elementary or secondary school is a nonprofit institutional day or residential school, including a public elementary or secondary charter school, that provides elementary or secondary education, as determined under State law.

• The individual must be teaching the majority of classes in the high-need field.

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Elementary or Secondary Academic Year

• One completed school year or• Two complete and consecutive half-years from

different school years, excluding summer, that fall within a 12-month period

• If the school has year round instruction, nine consecutive months is an academic year

Full Time Teacher

• A person who provides direct classroom teaching or classroom-type teaching in a non-classroom setting

• Includes special education teachers and reading specialists

• The State defines full time employment status as a teacher

• Teaching assignments at different schools may be combined to achieve full-time status

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Highly Qualified Teacher• Has obtained full State certification as a teacher or passed the State

teacher licensing examination

• Holds a minimum of a bachelor’s degree, and

• Has demonstrated subject-matter competency in each of the academic subjects in which the teacher teaches, in a manner determined by the State and in compliance with section 9101(23) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended.

• More information can be found at: www.ed.gov/teachers/nclbguide/improve-quality.html

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Definitions of High Need Field

• Includes:– (1) Bilingual education and English language acquisition

– (2) Foreign language

– (3) Mathematics

– (4) Reading specialist

– (5) Science

– (6) Special education

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High Need Field, continued…

• Also includes fields designated by the Federal Government, a State government, or a local educational agency

• US Department of Education must approve other fields and list them in the Teacher Shortage Area Nationwide Listing at: www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/pol/tsa.html

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Identifying Low-Income Schools

• See the US Department of Education’s Annual Directory of Designated Low-Income Schools for Teacher Cancellation Benefits at www.tcli.ed.gov– Includes all schools operated by the Bureau of Indian

Education or operated on Indian reservations by Indian tribal groups in affiliation with the Bureau of Indian Education

– Low-income designation is made at the individual school level, not the school district level

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Grants Received for More than One Program of Study

• You must complete a service obligation for each program of study for which you received TEACH Grant funds, e.g. first certification program separate from additional certification program of study – Each service obligation begins when you complete or cease

to be enrolled in the TEACH Grant-eligible program for which you received TEACH grant funds

– Creditable teaching service may apply to more than one service obligation

– You may request a suspension of the eight year period for certain circumstances

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Why ask for a suspension of your service obligation?

• You have only eight years to complete your teaching obligation

• If not complete at the end of eight years, your total TEACH grant becomes a loan

• Converts to an Unsubsidized Direct Loan with interest accrued from the date the grant was paid

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• You enroll in a program of study eligible to receive the TEACH Grant, e.g. return to school for a masters or additional certification

• A condition covered under the Family and Medical Leave Act as indicated in U.S. Code 2612(a)(1) & (3) such as:

– Birth and subsequent care of a son or daughter

– Adoption of a child or provision of foster care

– Caring for a spouse, child, or parent who has a serious health condition

– If you have a serious health condition

• A call or order to qualifying active duty status of more than 30 days

Where to ask for a suspension?

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• A Total of THREE years

• Granted in ONE year increments

• Ends upon completion of qualifying military service

Time period for suspensions…

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How to apply for a suspension?

• Upon completing or terminating enrollment in a TEACH Grant-eligible program, apply in WRITING prior to becoming subject to the grant converting to a loan

• If already begun teaching service, apply in WRITING prior to becoming subject to the grant converting to a loan

• Effectively, this is within 120 days

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Documents Required for a Suspension

• Supporting documentation • Current contact information

– Home address– Telephone number

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Circumstances Preventing Completion of Teaching Service

• Some conditions, such as a conviction of a felony, could preclude you from completing your service obligation

• Qualifying high-need teaching fields must be in effect at the time you begin your teaching service

• You fail to notify the Secretary of the US Department of Education of your intent to meet the service requirements each year after completing your program

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• If you fail to fulfill your obligation to teach, ALL of your TEACH Grants convert to a loan. Interest will be calculated from the date that each grant was disbursed to you

• You will be issued a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan in place of the grants

• You may request your TEACH Grants be converted to a loan if you determine you cannot meet the service obligation

• Certain conditions, such as a felony, that can preclude you from completing the service obligation

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What changes the grant to a loan?

What changes the grant to a loan?

• If you leave school without completing your TEACH-eligible program (major)

• If you change from an eligible to an ineligible program while in school

• If you complete your program but fail to confirm annually to the Secretary of the US Department of Education that you intend to complete your service agreement

• If you fail to complete four years of qualified teaching within the eight year timeframe (and have not gotten a suspension from the US Department of Education to extend your eligible time)

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Once the Grant becomes a Loan…

It can never change back to a grant again!

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About loans…

• You must repay any TEACH Grants that convert to a loan

• Failure to repay (loan default) can lead to – Wage garnishment

– Adverse credit reports

– Ineligibility for further financial aid at any US college or university

– Lawsuits

– Seizure of your federal income tax refunds to pay the debt

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Sample Repayment Information

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$4,000 TEACH Grant

•Repay @ $50 per month•Repayment would take 8.75 years

•You would repay $5343.75

$8,000 TEACH Grant

•Repay @ $92 per month•Repayment would take 10 years

•You would repay $11,047.20

$12,000 TEACH Grant

•Repay @ $138 per month•Repayment would take 10 years

•You would repay $16,572.00

$16,000 TEACH Grant

•Repay @ $184 per month•Repayment would take 10 years

•You would repay $22,095.60

The Reality of Repayment

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Years After First Disb.

AccruedInterest

MonthlyPayment

TotalRepaid

Upon Graduation $2,448 $212 $24,476

$16,000 TEACH Grant converted to a 6.8% loan repaid over a 10 year period with accrued interest

12 $11,152 $312 $37,496

But what happens to the amount you have to repay if you are not able to meet your service obligation by the end of 8 years?

For Loan Questions or Concerns

• Contact the US Department of Education’s Student Loan Ombudsman

– http://www.ombudsman.ed.gov/– This is a resource for borrowers who cannot

resolve loan issues with their lender

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QUESTIONS?

Contact the Lake Superior State University

Financial Aid Office at

906-635-2678 or finaid@lssu.edu

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Student CertificationTo complete the Entrance Counseling Requirement you must print, sign, and submit to the Lake Superior State University Financial Aid Office the following statement.

My signature attests that I have viewed the TEACH Grant Entrance Counseling presentation in its entirety and understand the material presented. I further understand that I must sign and submit to the US Department of Education the Agreement to Serve if I have not already done so.

Student Name ______________________________ ID ________________

Student Signature ___________________________ Date _______________

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