The Department will not require institutions to provide in-person counseling to TEACH Grant recipients, according to rewritten draft proposed regulatory language distributed during the final day of the second session of TEACH Grant negotiated rulemaking (negreg).

Negotiators representing various higher education interests and Department officials reached a tentative agreement on every section of the draft proposed regulatory language issued by the Department, except the Service and Repayment Obligation section. The second negreg session ended before negotiators could reach an agreement on this final section. The general agreement on the majority of the draft language is good indication that negotiators and the Department will be able to reach an agreement on proposed regulatory language by the end of the third negreg session, scheduled for Feb. 6-8.

While negotiators were not always fully satisfied, they expressed appreciation for the Department's flexibility during the TEACH Grant negreg sessions.

NASFAA will provide a complete summary of the Department's updated draft proposed regulatory language for the TEACH Grant program as soon as it is available.

Counseling Requirements

The Department demonstrated this flexibility when it dropped its proposal to require that institutions provide in-person counseling for all TEACH Grant recipients. This was a major sticking point for negotiators, who argued that it would be an unmanageable administrative burden and could cause students to miss out on TEACH aid.

Department officials rewrote the draft language to allow institutions to provide counseling by "audiovisual presentation, or by interactive electronic means." However, the draft language states that institutions must ensure that a Title IV expert is "reasonably available shortly after the counseling to answer students' questions."

A negotiator representing financial aid offices expressed appreciation for the Department's concession on the counseling issues, but expressed regret that the language did not include a statement that the Department would collaborate with institutions to provide counseling as it does with Direct Loans.

"I'm still disappointed that the Department will not provide resources and tools for institutions to provide all TEACH Grant counseling that occurs in conjunction with the submission of the service agreement and promise to pay note," the negotiator said. "It should be relatively easy since, the foundation is already built with Direct Loan program."

Department officials said that as the program matures there will be more opportunity for collaboration. Officials reminded negotiators that this was the first year of the program, so it would be hard to have all the collaboration pieces in place immediately.

"There is a role here for institutions, especially with regard to counseling," a Department official said. "That said we are not adverse to collaboration. We expect to have the tools to drastically reduce your counseling burden in the future. You can enhance those tools with personal counseling."

Service and Repayment Obligations

The third and final day of the second session of TEACH Grant ended before negotiators and Department officials could reach an agreement on the draft language regarding the service and repayment obligations of TEACH Grant recipients. The Department rewrote the draft language for negotiators to consider during lunch of the third day, so negotiators had little time to review the new language, which likely explains the myriad questions and situations that negotiators wrestled with without coming to an agreement about the language.

The draft language stated that TEACH recipients would have 90 days after completing or ceasing enrollment in their teacher preparation program to notify the Department that they were working as a teacher to fulfill their teaching obligation or were not teaching, but intended to fulfill their teaching obligation. Those who did not notify the Department within 90 days risked having their grant turned to loans.

Negotiators argued that 90 days was not enough time for many students to determine what their future plans were, especially if they were considering returning to school for more training. They argued that some students may need as much as six months to determine if they would return to school (and have their teaching obligations deferred) or try to enter a high-need teaching field at a low-income school. The Department ultimately yielded and said they would extend this time period to 120 days.

Negotiators also expressed concern that, under the draft language, a TEACH Grant recipient who took some time off while earning their degree would unfairly be penalized because that time off would count against the eight years they had to complete the four-year teaching obligation. However, the Department did not appear flexible on this point.

Department officials also made it clear that traditional elementary school teachers who teach every subject would not eligible for the aid because they are not teaching in a high-need field full-time as required by the language in the law. However, they said elementary school students that specialize in a high-need field and teach that subject full-time could be eligible.

Completion of More Than One Service Obligation

The Department rewrote (and negotiators tentatively agreed to) draft language regarding TEACH recipients who receive the grants more than once for different programs. The draft language stipulates that recipients must complete a service obligation for each program of study that they receive TEACH for. However, creditable teaching service would apply to more than one service obligation. This means that students who receive a TEACH Grant for an undergraduate program and another grant for a graduate program would have to fulfill two separate service obligations, but one year of eligible teaching would count for both service agreements.

Negotiators expressed appreciation for the Department's interpretation of the law, even though they had some concerns that there were scenarios where recipients could have one set of TEACH turn to loans while they successfully completed their obligation for a second set of TEACH grants.

Media Coverage

• Concerns Over 'Teach Grant' Conditions May Lead Colleges Back to Congress (The Chronicle of Higher Education) A paid subscription may be required.