The 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 commit to teach full-time in high-need subject areas for at least four years at schools that serve students from low-income families. Students may receive up to $16,000 for undergraduate study and up to $8,000 for graduate study. Part-time students are eligible, but the maximum grant will be reduced.
Who can apply for a TEACH Grant?
What is TEACH Grant Counseling?
What is a TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve?
What are conditions of the TEACH Grant service obligation?
What documentation does the Department of Education require?
Who can apply for a TEACH Grant?
To be eligible for and apply for a TEACH Grant you must:
- Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), although you do not have to demonstrate financial need.
- Meet the eligibility requirements for federal student aid. General requirements include being a citizen or permanent resident, not in default of a student loan or in repayment of a Federal Grant, and meet the UNO Satisfactory Academic Progress standards.
- Be enrolled in a program of study designated as TEACH Grant-eligible. 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. These programs vary by institution.
- UNO students need to be admitted to the College of Education which requires:
-
Completion of ENGL 1150, ENGL 1160, CMST 1110, or CMST 2120, and MATH STEM 1120, MATH 1130, MATH 1220, MATH 1310, MATH 1530, STAT 1100, or math proficiency ACT score of 23 or higher, TED 2100 and TED 2200; and
-
minimum 2.5 Cumulative GPA
- Score above the 75th percentile on a college admissions test (e.g. SAT, ACT, GRE) OR have a Cumulative GPA of at least 3.25 (on a 4.0 scale) on your college coursework
- Complete TEACH Grant counseling. The Office of Financial Support and Scholarships will supply you with this information.
- Sign a 'TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve (ATS)' and respond to requests by the U.S. Department of Education confirming your continuing intention to meet the teaching obligation.
-
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 cannot be converted back to a grant.
What is TEACH Grant Counseling?
TEACH Grant Counseling provides essential information that you need to know as a TEACH Grant recipient. This includes additional information about the TEACH Grant, a disclosure statement, and key terms. Each year you must complete TEACH Grant Counseling and an Agreement To Serve (ATS).
For each TEACH Grant you receive, the U.S. Department of Education will send you a disclosure statement that provides important information about the TEACH Grant funds the school you are attending plans to disburse (pay out) to you. Your disclosure statement will provide you award amounts and estimated disbursement dates.
What is a 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) that is available on StudentAid.gov. 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 Stafford Loan, with interest accrued from the date the grant funds were first disbursed.
What are conditions of the TEACH Grant service 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 listed below.
Highly-Qualified Teacher: You must perform the teaching service as a highly-qualified teacher, which is defined in federal law. To meet the definition of a highly qualified teacher in the state of Nebraska, you must meet the certification requirements of the State of Nebraska Department of Education.
Full-Time Teacher: You must meet the state's definition of a full-time teacher and spend the majority (at least 51 percent) 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 Subject Areas: The high-need subject areas are applicable nationwide and are as follows:
- Bilingual Education and English Language Acquisition
- Foreign Language
- Mathematics
- Reading Specialist
- Science
- Special Education
UNO awards TEACH Grants for Nebraska High-Need areas listed in the Department of Education's Annual Teacher Shortage Area Nationwide Listing which is updated yearly. UNO can only award the TEACH Grant if the high-need area is listed for the current year. The Nebraska High-Need Areas will only apply for teaching in Nebraska unless another state designates the field as high-need.
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. If a school is not listed for an academic year, any teaching in that school will not count towards the four-year requirement.
What documentation does the Department of Education require?
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 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 having your grants converted to loans before you are able to complete your teaching obligation.