Types of Grants
Federal Pell Grant
Federally funded awards granted to undergraduate students with exceptional financial need who have not received a bachelor's degree. Awards range from $890 to $4,731 per year and are available to full or part time undergraduates.
Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG)
Federally funded awards granted to undergraduate students who are Federal Pell Grant eligible, with priority given to students with a high need. Awards range from $100 to $4,000 per year, depending on the date the student's file is complete in the Office of Financial Aid at ETSU, the student's need, and the funding level and policies of the Office of Financial Aid at ETSU.
Tennessee Student Assistance Award
Program established by the Tennessee General Assembly in 1976. The purpose of the program is to provide non-repayable financial assistance to financially needy undergraduate students who are residents of Tennessee and are enrolled, or accepted for enrollment, at a public or an eligible non-public postsecondary educational institution in Tennessee. Students must be enrolled at least half-time. Based on funding, with first priority given to U.S. citizens.
The maximum award amount (currently $2,322) is determined by the TSAC Board of Directors prior to the beginning of the fall term. No student will receive an award greater than the amount of tuition and mandatory fees assessed by the institution attended. The minimum award is $150.
A student's eligibility is determined in the same manner as eligibility for a Federal Pell Grant.
Students must have the Free Application For Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) processed by the federal processor by the priority deadline of February 15 for the upcoming Fall term.
Tennessee Dual Enrollment Grant
Defined as a grant for study at an eligible postsecondary institution that is funded from net proceeds of the state lottery. Awarded to students who are attending high school and who are also enrolled in college courses at eligible postsecondary institutions for which they will receive college credit.
Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG) and National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent (SMART) Grant Programs
The Higher Education Reconciliation Act of 2005 (HERA) created the two grant programs for full-time students at degree-granting institutions who are eligible for Federal Pell Grant and are U.S. citizens. Congress provided funding to make grants available for these programs. The U.S. Department of Education will notify each federal student aid applicant who is potentially eligible for an ACG based on information the applicant provides on the 2008-09 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Applicants who are U. S. citizens in the first or second year of postsecondary education, and who have an expected family contribution (EFC) that would make them eligible for a Federal Pell Grant, will be notified of their potential eligibility.
TEACH Grant (new for 2009-2010)
Through the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007, Congress created the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Program that provides grants of up to $4,000 per year to students who intend to teach in a public or private elementary or secondary school that serves students from low-income families.
Conditions
In exchange for receiving a TEACH Grant, you must agree to serve as a full-time teacher in a high-need field in a public or private elementary or secondary school that serves low-income students (see below for more information on high-need fields and schools serving low-income students). As a recipient of a TEACH Grant, you must teach for at least four academic years within eight calendar years of completing the program of study for which you received a TEACH Grant. IMPORTANT: If you fail to complete this service obligation, all amounts of TEACH Grants that you received will be converted to a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan. You must then repay this loan to the U.S. Department of Education. You will be charged interest from the date the grant(s) was disbursed. Note: TEACH Grant recipients will be given a 6-month grace period prior to entering repayment if a TEACH Grant is converted to a Direct Unsubsidized Loan.
Student Eligibility Requirements
To receive a TEACH Grant you must meet the following criteria:
- Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), although you do not have to demonstrate financial need.
- Be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen.
- Be enrolled as an undergraduate, post-baccalaureate, or graduate student in a postsecondary educational institution that has chosen to participate in the TEACH Grant Program.
- Be enrolled in coursework that is necessary to begin a career in teaching or plan to complete such coursework. Such coursework may include subject area courses (e.g., math courses for a student who intends to be a math teacher).
- Meet 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).
- Sign a TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve (see below for more information on the TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve).
High-Need Field
High-need fields are the specific areas identified below.
- 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 go to http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/pol/tsa.doc.
Schools Serving Low-Income Students
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 go to https://www.tcli.ed.gov/CBSWebApp/tcli/TCLIPubSchoolSearch.jsp.
TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve
Each year you receive a TEACH Grant, you must sign a TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve that will be available electronically on a 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 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. 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.
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 About Eligible Programs of Study or Teaching Requirements:
Contact ETSU College of Education.
IMPORTANT REMINDER
If you receive a TEACH Grant but do not complete the required teaching service, as explained above, you will be required to repay the grants as a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, with interest charged from the date of each TEACH Grant disbursement.