Through the College Cost Reduction and Access of Act of 2007, Congress created the non-need-based Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Program that provides grants of up to $4000 per year (based on level of enrollment) to students who intend to teach in a public or private elementary or secondary school that serves students from low-income families. If the recipient does not fulfill specific requirements within a certain amount of time, the grant converts into a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan.
At Tulane University, only post-graduate students meeting certain additional requirements are eligible to be considered to receive a Federal TEACH Grant. A student is considered to be in a Tulane “Teach Grant Eligible Program” and eligible to be considered to receive a Federal TEACH Grant once the student fulfills all the requirements listed below before the deadline for consideration:
- Is currently registered for or enrolled in at least one course required for the Tulane University Teacher Preparation and Certification Program*
- Has obtained a bachelor's degree (from Tulane or elsewhere),
- Has successfully completed (received a grade of B or better) the 2000 level class EDLA 2000 Education in a Diverse Society (or approved equivalent) of the Tulane Teacher Preparation and Certification Program
- Has received a passing grade on the Praxis II Content exam
- Conditionally considered for the State Non-Master Alternative Certificate Program through Tulane University
- Completes the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) appropriate for the term of enrollment
- Is a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen
- Meets certain academic achievement requirements (generally, scoring above the 75th percentile on a college admissions test or maintaining a cumulative GPA of at least 3.25)
- Signs a TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve, which may be found on the Federal Student Aid website
*Please visit the Tulane University Teacher Preparation and Certification Program website for more information.
If you have any questions, feel free to directly contact Dr. Claudine Davis, Teacher Certification Program Manager sblady@tulane.edu and Dr. Richard Mihan, Professor of Practice rmihans@tulane.edu. Both are Deans in Tulane's School of Professional Advancement.
TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve
Each year you receive a TEACH Grant, you must complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid and sign a TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve, which may be found on the Federal Student Aid website. 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 require the following:
- For each TEACH Grant-eligible program for which you received TEACH Grant funds, you must serve as a full-time teacher for a total of at least four academic years within eight calendar years after you completed or withdrew from the academic program for which you received the TEACH Grant.
- You must perform the teaching service as a highly-qualified teacher** at a low-income school.***
- Your teaching service must be in a high-need field.****
- You must comply with any other requirements that the Department of Education determines to be necessary.
- If you do not complete the required teaching service obligation, TEACH Grant funds you received will be converted to a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan that you must repay, with interest charged from the date of each TEACH Grant disbursement. For more information on the TEACH Grant, see the TEACH Grant section of the Federal Student Aid website.
** Highly-qualified teacher
The term highly-qualified teacher is defined in section 9101(23) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 or in section 602(10) of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act.
*** Low-Income school
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. To access the Directory, please see the TEACH Grant section of the Federal Student Aid website.
**** High-need field
Bilingual Education and English Language, Acquisition Foreign Language, Mathematics, Reading Specialist, Science, Special Education
Other identified teacher shortage areas as of the time you begin teaching in that field. These are teacher subject shortage areas (not geographic areas) that are listed in the Department of Education's Annual Teacher Shortage Area Nationwide Listing. To access the listing, please see the TEACH Grant section of the Federal Student Aid website.
TEACH Grant Disbursement
Federal TEACH Grants are generally disbursed at the start of each semester in accordance with prevailing federal regulations. Grants offered for a traditional academic year (consisting of a fall and spring semester), will have half of the total amount disburse at the start of the fall semester and the remaining half disburse at the start of the spring semester. Summer semester grant disbursements occur when a borrower commences enrollment.
A recipient of a Federal TEACH Grant has the right to cancel all or part of a Federal TEACH Grant or Federal TEACH Grant disbursement (whether or not the funds have credited to the student’s Tulane University billing account). The procedure to cancel a Federal TEACH Grant or Federal TEACH Grant disbursement is to submit a cancellation request in writing, postmarked within sixty days of the disbursement’s crediting date, and mailed to Tulane University Financial Aid Office, Gibson Hall, Suite #130, 6823 St. Charles Avenue, New Orleans , LA 70118; sent via email to finaid@tulane.edu OR faxed to (504) 862-8750. If the amount canceled previously disbursed, then the amount canceled will be charged to the student’s billing account and returned to the U.S. Department of Education.
