Eligibility Requirements

TEACH Grant Eligibility Requirements

Students who plan to teach may wish to consider the TEACH Grant.
Be aware that if you receive the TEACH Grant but do not fulfill the stringent requirements of the program, the amount awarded in grant money becomes a loan with interest (at the same rate as the federal Stafford Loan) compounded from the time of the award.

Eligibility

To be eligible at Grand Canyon University, you must:  

• Be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen
• Complete a FAFSA, although you do not have to demonstrate financial need to be eligible
• Have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.25 throughout your academic program, or demonstrate a score above the 75th percentile on a national standardized college admissions test (ACT, SAT, GRE or GMAT), or be employed as a full-time teacher as a graduate student
• Be accepted into an eligible degree program.

You may:

• Major in education and pursue a certification in a high need subject area, or:
• Major in a high need subject area without obtaining certification, IF you are already certified.
• Undergraduate students are eligible only if they are pursuing their first undergraduate degree. Students pursuing a second undergraduate degree are NOT eligible for the TEACH Grant.
• Sign an Agreement to Serve and complete counseling each year that you receive a grant.
• Complete Entrance Counseling.

Service Agreement

Each year you receive a TEACH Grant, you must sign a TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve and Promise to Pay (service agreement) which will be available on the U.S. Department of Education web site. By signing the service agreement, you agree to repay the grant as a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan, with interest accrued from the date that the grant funds were disbursed, if you do not complete the teaching obligation. Once the grant has been converted to a loan, it cannot be converted back to a grant.

Teaching Obligation

Grant recipients agree to teach for at least four full years, as a full-time teacher, within eight years of finishing their program or ceasing enrollment. You also agree to teach high-need subjects in designated schools that serve low-income students. If you do not complete the teaching obligation, your grants will convert to an unsubsidized loan, which you must repay with interest.

High-Need Subject Areas & Low-Income Schools
Recipients agree to teach in any of the following subject areas:

• Bilingual education and English language acquisition
• Foreign language
• Mathematics
• Reading Specialist
• Science
• Special Education

Other identified teacher shortage areas (listed by state, as of the year you will begin teaching)

Fulfilling the service agreement requires the majority of your classes be taught in one of the high-need subject areas. Elementary teachers teaching multiple subjects will find it difficult, if not impossible, to satisfy their service obligation.

Counseling

You are required to complete counseling through the Financial Aid Office and/or the Department of Education each year that you accept a TEACH Grant. You will also be required to attend Exit Counseling when you graduate or leave school.

Amount of Grant

The TEACH Grant Program provides up to $3,496 per year in grants to full time students who plan to fulfill the service obligation. 

Students attending less than full time will have the grant reduced:

• three-quarter time students may receive up to $2,622 
• half-time students may receive up to $1,748 
• less-than-half time students may receive up to $874

Documentation

Within 120 days of completing your program or ceasing enrollment in your program, you must notify the U.S. Department of Education that you are fulfilling (or plan to fulfill) the terms and conditions of your service agreement. You must document your teaching service annually, and your documentation must be certified by the chief administrative officer at the school where you teach.

To Apply for 2012/13

• Complete a 2012/13 FAFSA
• Complete TEACH Grant Entrance Counseling and sign an Agreement to Serve at :
  https://teach-ats.ed.gov
• Submit a paper application to the Financial Aid Office
  • You must also provide, as applicable:
    • Your current teaching certificate if you program does not lead to licensure
    • Your teacher verification form
    • Official copies of your standardized college entrance test scores (SAT, ACT, GRE or GMAT) if you do not meet the 3.25 cumulative GPA requirement