Program Description:
The program is called the TEACH “grant”, but may in fact be a student loan for many recipients. In order to receive the grant, students will first be required to sign a Service Agreement, promising to teach in a high-need field at a low-income school after graduation from college. If the grant recipient does not complete this service commitment, the grant reverts to a student loan with retroactive interest. There are also academic requirements, including maintenance of a minimum 3.25 cumulative GPA to continue receiving the grant.
Award Amount:
The program allows for awards of $4,000 per academic year for full-time study for up to four years of undergraduate and two years of graduate level higher education. Proportionate awards are available to half-time and three-quarter time students.
Student Eligibility:
Financial Need Not Required: Eligibility for TEACH is not based on family income or financial need. However, a student must complete a FAFSA application each year to receive TEACH. The FAFSA is required in order for the college and the DOE to determine citizenship status and other basic eligibility requirements, and to establish a student record as a basis for payment of the awards.
Enrollment Status: The student must be enrolled in an Education Degree Program at SUNY Cortland that leads to a teaching career in an identified “high need” field. The identified “high need” teaching specialties as of this writing are: mathematics, science, foreign language, bilingual education, special education, and reading. It is assumed at this time that teaching in an elementary school will meet the requirement if the majority of the teacher’s work time is spent teaching in one or more of the “high need” fields.
We have identified the Majors at SUNY Cortland that seem likely to result in potential employment in one of these “high need” fields. A student who is enrolled in a different major may still be eligible if the student presents an individual academic plan that may reasonably lead to a career in an appropriate high-need field.
Academic Performance: Students must meet high academic standards to be eligible to participate in the TEACH grant program.
New freshmen can establish initial eligibility by having a cumulative high school GPA of 3.25 on a 4.0 scale (equivalent to approximately 87.5 on a 100 percent scale), or by earning a score in any battery (section) of a standardized college admissions test. This equates to a score of approximately 610 on any section of the SAT test.
Continuing and transfer students can achieve and maintain eligibility by earning a cumulative (or transfer) GPA of at least 3.25 on a 4.0 scale.
Service Commitment:
Within eight years of graduation from a degree program (or any other separation from the College), the student must teach for four academic years in a low-income school in one of the above-listed “high need” fields. A list of “low-income” schools is available at the DOE’s Low-Income Schools Search Page
Failure to Meet Service Commitment:
If you are unwilling or unable to meet the service commitment after graduation, or if you withdraw from college without completing your education degree, the TEACH grant will revert to an unsubsidized Federal Direct Stafford Loan (student loan) with retroactive interest. This can result in a substantial loan obligation when years of accrued interest are added to the original loan amount, so the TEACH grant is a commitment that should be carefully considered in advance.
Latest Updates and Information:
The information provided on this page represents the most current information available to the Financial Advisement Office as of March 7, 2008. Updates will be made frequently as new information becomes available.