The TEACH Grant Program
The TEACH Grant Program awards grants to students who intend to teach. In turn, you must agree to serve as a full-time teacher in a high-need field in a school serving low-income students for at least four academic years within eight years of completing the program of study for which you received the grant. If you do not complete your service as a teacher, the grant will convert to a loan.
Note: Failure to meet TEACH obligations transitions the grant funds into a loan. As a result, TEACH Exit Counseling is required upon completion of your degree or after you drop below half-time enrollment. Take a Tour of TEACH Exit Counseling.
On August 2, 2011, Congress passed the Budget Control Act of 2011, which put into place automatic federal budget cuts, known as a “sequester.” These budget cuts have resulted in a reduction of TEACH grant funding. For additional information on the impact of the sequester and TEACH grant amounts, please visit https://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types/grants/teach.
You must work in one of the following high-need fields:
- Bilingual Education or English Language Acquisition
- Foreign Language
- Mathematics
- Reading Specialist
- Science
- Special Education
- Other teacher shortage areas are listed in the Department of Education’s Annual Teacher Shortage Area Nationwide Listing.
You must be enrolled in a qualifying Regent program:
- Bachelor of Education
- Master of Education
- Special Education (K-12)
You must work in a school serving low-income students.
Schools serving low-income students include elementary or secondary schools listed in the Department of Education’s Annual Directory of Designated Low-Income Schools for Teacher Cancellation Benefits.
You must plan to teach full-time in a school serving low-income students for at least four out of eight years once you complete your program at Regent.
If you meet all of the above requirements, you may be eligible for a TEACH Grant. The TEACH Grant Program will provide up to $4,000 a year in grant aid. Eligible undergraduate students may not receive more than $16,000, and graduate students may receive no more than $8,000 in total TEACH Grants. Students enrolled less than full-time will have their TEACH Grant reduced accordingly: three-fourths time $3,000; half-time $2,000; less than half-time $1,000. The amount of the TEACH Grant awarded when combined with other student aid may not exceed a student’s Cost of Attendance (COA). Students must agree to serve as full-time teachers at low-income schools and teach in the above-referenced fields for four academic years within eight years after completing the college course. TEACH Grant recipients who do not fulfill their teaching obligations must repay the grant as if it were an unsubsidized direct loan.
Student Application Process
- Students must complete the TEACH Questionnaire and submit it to the Student Financial Aid Office. For access to the questionnaire, please log into Genisys through your MyRegent Portal.
- Students must have a 3.25 GPA (high school GPA for first-year undergraduate students or undergraduate GPA for first-year graduate students) OR score in the 75th percentile on at least one admissions test. Students must maintain a 3.25 cumulative GPA throughout their time at Regent, which will be reviewed each semester.
- GPA requirements do not apply to graduate students who are currently teachers or who are retirees and have expertise in a subject where there is a shortage of teachers (math, science, special education, English as a second language, or another high-need subject).
- Students must be completing (or planning to complete) the coursework required to become a teacher.
- Students must complete TEACH Grant counseling.
- Students must complete an Agreement to Serve (ATS) each year they are scheduled to receive a TEACH Grant. Click here to access the ATS.
- To receive a TEACH Grant students must also agree to:
- Serve as a full-time teacher for at least four years within eight years of completing their course of study.
- Comply with the requirements for being a highly qualified teacher (defined in section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act).
- Teach math, science, a foreign language, bilingual education, special education, reading, or a subject designated as “high need” by the federal or state government, or local education agency and approved by the department.
- Provide certification by the school’s chief administrator annually as evidence of required employment.
Once you complete the TEACH entrance counseling and the Agreement to Serve, and assuming you meet all other requirements, the TEACH Grant will be awarded to you.
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 regularly asked to confirm that you either 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 your grants being converted to loans before you are able to complete your teaching obligations.
Important Reminder
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 accruing from the time of disbursement. Once a grant is converted to a loan it cannot be converted back to a grant.
Additional Information
For additional information on how to obtain a TEACH Grant while at Regent University, contact Office of Advising at 757.352.4385. For more information about the requirements associated with the TEACH Grant, please click here to visit the Federal Student Aid website.