Department of Education

TEACH GRANTS OVERVIEW

Fiscal Year 2015 Budget Proposal

CONTENTS

Page

Summary of Proposal........................................................................................................ R-1
TEACH GRANTS OVERVIEW

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Summary of Proposal

TEACH Grants (loans)

(Higher Education Act of 1965, Title IV, Part A, Subpart 9)

(dollars in thousands)

FY 2015 Authorization: Indefinite

Mandatory Budget Authority:

2014 2015 Change

TEACH new loan subsidies1$14,576 $17,914 +$3,338

TEACH net re-estimate -9,531 0 +9,531

TEACH Total net subsidy 5,045 17,914 +12,869

1 For budget and financial management purposes, this program is operated as a credit program under the 

Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990; budget authority reflects the estimated net present value of future Federal nonadministrative costs for awards made in a given fiscal year. Negative numbers indicate estimated future Federal 

revenues exceed estimated future Federal costs.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The TEACH Grant program—created by the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007—

awards annual grants of up to $4,000, to eligible undergraduate and graduate students who 

agree to serve as a full-time teacher in mathematics, science, foreign language, bilingual 

education, special education, or reading at a high-need school for not less than 4 years within 8 

years of graduation. For students who fail to fulfill this service requirement, grants are 

converted to Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loans with interest accrued from the date the grants 

were awarded.

To be eligible for a TEACH Grant award, enrolled students must have a grade point average of 

at least 3.25 on a zero to 4.0 scale and be completing academic coursework and other 

requirements necessary to begin a career in teaching, or plan to complete such coursework and 

requirements prior to graduation. (For first-year students, grade point average is determined 

using cumulative secondary school grades.) In addition, teachers, retirees from another 

occupation with expertise in a field in which there is a shortage of teachers, or current or former 

teachers using a high-quality alternative route to certification are eligible to receive TEACH 

awards to obtain a graduate degree. All applicants must sign an agreement acknowledging that 

grants will be converted to loans if the required service is not completed.

Participating institutions of higher education must provide high quality teacher preparation and 

professional development services, including extensive clinical experience as part of pre-service 

preparation; be financially sound; provide pedagogical coursework, or assistance in the 

provision of such coursework, including the monitoring of student performance, and formal 

instruction related to the theory and practice of teaching; and provide supervision and support 

services to teachers, or assistance in the provision of such services, including mentoring 

focused on effective teaching skills and strategies.
TEACH GRANTS OVERVIEW

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Total net subsidy costs for the past 5 fiscal years were:

(dollars in thousands)

2010........................................ $26,685

2011........................................ 15,576

2012........................................ 34,477

2013........................................ 14,760

2014........................................ 5,045

Note: Subsidy costs include net reestimates (combined upward and downward) of prior cohorts and net modifications, 

which may produce significant annual fluctuations.

FY 2015 BUDGET PROPOSAL

The estimated loan subsidy amount for fiscal year 2015 is $17.9 million. Aid available in fiscal 

year 2015 is anticipated to reach nearly $98.5 million.

The TEACH program began making awards on July 1, 2008. At the start of academic year 

2011-2012, the TEACH program was making awards at approximately 800 institutions. No new 

policies are proposed for this program.

Based on data from national surveys and existing teacher loan forgiveness programs, the 

Administration estimates that as many as 75 percent of students receiving TEACH grants will 

fail to complete their required service commitment and will have their grants converted to loans; 

in the interim, they will have missed the opportunity to obtain other institutional grant aid that 

would not otherwise be converted into a loan.

Consistent with the requirements of the Credit Reform Act of 1990, budget authority for this 

program reflects the estimated net present value of all future non-administrative Federal costs 

associated with awards made in a given fiscal year.

PROGRAM OUTPUT MEASURES

TEACH Grants: 2013 2014 2015

Recipients 32,377 33,671 34,116

Aid available to students (dollars in 

thousands) $93,022 $96,323 $98,475

Maximum award (in whole dollars) $4,000 $4,000 $4,000

Average award (in whole dollars) $2,873 $2,861 $2,886

PROGRAM PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

This section presents selected program performance information, including, for example, GPRA 

goals, objectives, measures, and performance targets and data, and an assessment of the 

progress made toward achieving program results. Achievement of results is based on the 

cumulative effect of the resources provided in previous years and those requested in fiscal year 

2015 and future years, as well as the resources and efforts invested by those served by this 

program.
TEACH GRANTS OVERVIEW

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Because the programs in the TEACH account rely on the same performance data as the 

Federal student aid programs, the performance measures, strategies, and program 

improvement activities that apply to all of the programs are discussed in the Student Aid 

Overview and are not repeated here.

Distribution of TEACH Grant Awards by Type of Institution:

The table below shows the award year 2011-2012 distribution of TEACH Grant assistance by 

type of institution (percentage and total funding); and the number of recipients and average 

award by institution type.

Distribution of TEACH Grants by Type of Institution in Academic Year

2011-2012

Institution Type Percent of TEACH 

Grant Aid Awards Recipients Average Award

Public 4-Year 48.6% $58,268,121 18,659 $3,123

Public 2-Year 0.2% 223,146 76 2,936

Private 4-Year 42.9% 51,368,705 16,483 3,212

Proprietary 4-Year 8.3% 9,957,878 3,100 3,116

TOTAL 100.0% 119,817,850 38,318 3,127