The Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant is available to students in a TEACH-eligible bachelor’s degree program who intend to teach in a public, or private elementary, or secondary school that serves students from low-income families.
However, because total financial aid must not exceed the cost of attendance, receiving a TEACH Grant may reduce the recipient’s eligibility for other sources of financial aid. In other words, do not assume that you will automatically have a credit on your account. Loans that have already been awarded may be replaced by the grant.
Grant recipients agree to teach for at least four years within eight years of finishing their teacher preparation program and to teach high-need subjects in designated schools that serve low-income students (designated as Title I). If you do not complete the four years of qualified teaching service within eight years of graduation or fail to meet any other TEACH Grant requirements, the grant will convert into a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, with interest accrued and capitalized from the date of the original disbursement.
For the purpose of the TEACH Grant program, a low-income school is a public or private elementary or secondary school that is listed in the annual directory of Designated Low-Income Schools for Teacher Cancellation Benefits.
Each year you receive a TEACH Grant, you must sign a TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve (service agreement) and Promise to Pay, which is available electronically on the U.S. 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 –
Elementary Education
Secondary Education:
The amount of your TEACH grant will depend on your enrollment status.
Eligible full-time students may receive $4,000 per year in TEACH Grant funds, up to a maximum of $16,000 for undergraduate study.
The TEACH Grant program funding has been reduced by the Budget Control Act of 2011 (the sequestration law).
| Maximum award is $4,000 per academic year | Full-time | 3/4-time | Half-time | Less than half-time |
| Undergraduate studentPer semester award (will be reduced by sequestration) | 12 or more credits$2,000 | 9-11 credits$1,500 | 6-8 credits$1,000 | 1-5 credits$500 |
As with federal loans, federal regulations require that students who have received a TEACH Grant complete online exit counseling upon changing majors to something other than a eligible academic program, withdrawing from school, or graduating from their program of study.
The online TEACH Grant Exit Counseling session provides information about the terms and conditions of a TEACH Grant service agreement, as well as the rights and responsibilities that apply if your TEACH Grant is converted to a Direct Unsubsidized Loan.
For information about the T.E.A.C.H Program, follow this link: http://www.miaeyc.org/professional-development/t-e-a-c-h-scholarships/. The Michigan Association for the Education of Young Children (MiAEYC) runs this program and it is not the same as the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Program.