To receive a grant under this part, a student must—

(a) Complete and submit the Free application for Federal student aid (FAFSA) in accordance with the instructions in the FAFSA;

(b) Complete and sign an agreement to serve or repay in accordance with § 686.12; and

(c) Provide any additional information requested by the Secretary and the institution.

(a) Undergraduate, post-baccalaureate, and graduate students. (1) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, a student who meets the requirements of 34 CFR part 668, subpart C, is eligible to receive a TEACH Grant if the student—

(i) Has met the application requirements in § 686.10;

(ii) Is enrolled in a TEACH Grant-eligible institution in a TEACH Grant-eligible program;

(iii) Is completing coursework and other requirements necessary to begin a career in teaching or plans to complete such coursework and requirements prior to graduating; and

(iv) Has—

(A) If the student is in the first year of a program of undergraduate education as determined by the institution—

(1) A final cumulative secondary school grade point average (GPA) upon graduation of at least 3.25 on a 4.0 scale, or the numeric equivalent; or

(2) A cumulative GPA of at least 3.25 on a 4.0 scale, or the numeric equivalent, based on courses taken at the institution through the most-recently completed payment period;

(B) If the student is beyond the first year of a program of undergraduate education as determined by the institution, a cumulative undergraduate GPA of at least 3.25 on a 4.0 scale, or the numeric equivalent, through the most recently completed payment period;

(C) If the student is a graduate student during the first payment period, a cumulative undergraduate GPA of at least 3.25 on a 4.0 scale, or the numeric equivalent;

(D) If the student is a graduate student beyond the first payment period, a cumulative graduate GPA of at least 3.25 on a 4.0 scale, or the numeric equivalent, through the most-recently completed payment period; or

(E) A score above the 75th percentile of scores achieved by all students taking the test during the period the student took the test on at least one of the batteries from a nationally-normed standardized undergraduate, graduate, or post-baccalaureate admissions test, except that such test may not include a placement test.

(2)(i) An institution must document the student's secondary school GPA under § 686.11(a)(1)(v)(A) using—

(A) Documentation provided directly to the institution by the cognizant authority; or

(B) Documentation from the cognizant authority provided by the student.

(ii) A cognizant authority includes, but is not limited to—

(A) An LEA;

(B) An SEA or other State agency; or

(C) A public or private secondary school.

(iii) A home-schooled student's parent or guardian is the cognizant authority for purposes of providing the documentation of a home-schooled student's secondary school GPA.

(iv) If an institution has reason to believe the documentation provided by a student under paragraph (a)(2)(i)(B) of this section is inaccurate or incomplete, the institution must confirm the student's grades by using documentation provided directly to the institution by the cognizant authority.

(b) Current or former teachers or retirees. A student who has met the application requirements in § 686.10 and meets the requirements of 34 CFR part 668, subpart C, is eligible to receive a TEACH Grant if the student—

(1) Is a current teacher or retiree who is applying for a grant to obtain a master's degree or is or was a teacher who is pursuing certification through a high-quality alternative certification route; and

(2) Is enrolled in a TEACH Grant-eligible institution in a TEACH Grant-eligible program during the period required for the completion of a master's degree.

(c) Transfer students. If a student transfers from one institution to the current institution and does not qualify under § 686.11(a)(1)(v)(E), the current institution must determine that student's eligibility for a TEACH Grant for the first payment period using either the method described in paragraph (c)(1) of this section or the method described in paragraph (c)(2) of this section, whichever method coincides with the current institution's academic policy. For an eligible student who transfers to an institution that—

(1) Does not incorporate grades from coursework that it accepts on transfer into the student's GPA at the current institution, the current institution, for the courses accepted upon transfer—

(i) Must calculate the student's GPA for the first payment period of enrollment using the grades earned by the student in the coursework from any prior postsecondary institution that it accepts; and

(ii) Must, for all subsequent payment periods, apply its academic policy and not incorporate the grades from the coursework that it accepts on transfer into the GPA at the current institution; or

(2) Incorporates grades from the coursework that it accepts on transfer into the student's GPA at the current institution, the current institution must use the grades assigned to the coursework accepted by the current institution as the student's cumulative GPA to determine eligibility for the first payment period of enrollment and all subsequent payment periods in accordance with its academic policy.

(a) General. A student who meets the eligibility requirements in § 686.11 may receive a TEACH Grant only after he or she signs an agreement to serve or repay provided by the Secretary and receives counseling in accordance with § 686.32.

(b) Contents of the agreement to serve or repay. The agreement to serve or repay—

(1) Provides that, for each TEACH Grant-eligible program for which the student received TEACH Grant funds, the grant recipient must fulfill a service obligation by performing creditable teaching service by serving—

(i) As a full-time teacher for a total of not less than four elementary or secondary academic years within eight years after the date the recipient ceased to be enrolled at the institution where the recipient received the TEACH Grant, or in the case of a student who receives a TEACH Grant at one institution and subsequently transfers to another institution and enrolls in another TEACH Grant-eligible program, within eight years of ceasing enrollment at the other institution;

(ii) In a low-income school as defined in § 686.2(d) and subject to the requirements under § 686.40(a)(3);

(iii) As a highly qualified teacher as defined in § 686.2(d); and

(iv) In a high-need field in the majority of classes taught during each elementary and secondary academic year;

(2) Requires the grant recipient to submit, upon completion of each year of service, documentation of the service in the form of a certification by a chief administrative officer of the school;

(3) Explains that the eight-year period for completing the service obligation does not include periods of suspension in accordance with § 686.41;

(4) Explains the conditions under which a TEACH Grant may be converted to a Direct Unsubsidized Loan, as described in § 686.43;

(5) Explains that, if a TEACH Grant is converted to a Direct Unsubsidized Loan, the grant recipient must repay the loan in full, with interest charged from the date of each TEACH Grant disbursement; and

(6) Explains that to avoid further accrual of interest as described in paragraph (b)(5) of this section, a grant recipient who decides not to teach in a qualified school or field, or who for any other reason no longer intends to satisfy the service obligation, may request that the Secretary convert his or her TEACH Grant to a Direct Unsubsidized Loan so that the grant recipient may begin repaying immediately, instead of waiting for the TEACH Grant to be converted to a loan under the condition described in § 686.43(a)(1)(ii); and

(7) Explains that a grant recipient whose TEACH Grant was converted to a Direct Unsubsidized Loan based on a request from the recipient in accordance with § 686.43(a)(1)(i) may request that the Secretary reconvert the recipient's loan to a TEACH Grant as provided in § 686.43(a)(8); and

(8) Requires the grant recipient to comply with the terms, conditions, and other requirements consistent with §§ 686.40 through 686.43 that the Secretary determines to be necessary.

(c) Completion of the service obligation. (1) A grant recipient must complete one service obligation for all TEACH Grants received for undergraduate study, and one service obligation for all TEACH Grants received for graduate study. Each service obligation begins when the grant recipient ceases enrollment at the institution where the TEACH Grants were received, or, in the case of a grant recipient who receives a TEACH Grant at one institution and subsequently transfers to another institution, within eight years from the date the grant recipient ceases enrollment at the other institution. However, creditable teaching service, a suspension approved under § 686.41(a)(2), or a military discharge granted under § 686.42(c)(2) may apply to more than one service obligation.

(2) Unless paragraph (c)(3) of this section applies—

(i) In the case of a TEACH Grant recipient who withdraws from an institution before completing a baccalaureate or post-baccalaureate program of study for which he or she received TEACH Grants, but later re-enrolls at the same institution or at a different institution in either the same baccalaureate or post-baccalaureate program or in a different TEACH Grant-eligible baccalaureate or post-baccalaureate program prior to the date that his or her TEACH Grants are converted to Direct Unsubsidized Loans under § 686.43(a)(1)(ii) and receives additional TEACH Grants or the Secretary otherwise confirms that the grant recipient has re-enrolled in a TEACH Grant-eligible program, the Secretary adjusts the starting date of the period for completing the service obligation to begin when the grant recipient ceases to be enrolled at the institution where he or she has re-enrolled; and

(ii) In the case of a TEACH Grant recipient who withdraws from an institution before completing a master's degree program of study for which he or she received TEACH Grants, but later re-enrolls at the same institution or at a different institution in either the same master's degree program or in a different TEACH Grant eligible master's degree program prior to the date that his or her TEACH Grants are converted to Direct Unsubsidized Loans under § 686.43(a)(1)(ii) and receives additional TEACH Grants or the Secretary otherwise confirms that the grant recipient has re-enrolled in a TEACH Grant-eligible program, the Secretary adjusts the starting date of the period for completing the service obligation to begin when the grant recipient ceases to be enrolled at the institution where he or she has re-enrolled.

(3) In the case of a TEACH Grant recipient covered under paragraph (c)(2)(i) or (ii) of this section who completed one or more complete academic years of creditable teaching service as described in § 686.12(b) during the period between the grant recipient's withdrawal and re-enrollment—

(i) The Secretary does not adjust the starting date of the period for completing the service obligation unless requested by the recipient;

(ii) The completed teaching service counts toward satisfaction of the grant recipient's service obligation under paragraph (c)(2)(i) of this section; and

(iii) If the grant recipient continues to perform creditable teaching service after re-enrolling in a TEACH Grant-eligible program, the grant recipient may receive credit toward satisfaction of the service obligation for any complete academic years of creditable teaching performed while the recipient is concurrently enrolled in the TEACH Grant-eligible program only if the recipient does not request and receive a temporary suspension of the period for completing the service obligation under § 686.41(a)(1)(i).

(d) Teaching in a high-need field listed in the Nationwide List. For a grant recipient's teaching service in a high-need field listed in the Nationwide List to count toward satisfying the recipient's service obligation, the high-need field in which he or she prepared to teach must be listed in the Nationwide List for the State in which the grant recipient teaches—

(1) For teaching service performed before July 1, 2010, at the time the grant recipient begins teaching in that field, even if that field subsequently loses its high-need designation for that State; or

(2) For teaching service performed on or after July 1, 2010—

(i) At the time the grant recipient begins teaching in that field, even if that field subsequently loses its high-need designation for that State; or

(ii) At the time the grant recipient signed the agreement to serve or repay or received the TEACH Grant, even if that field subsequently loses its high-need designation for that State before the grant recipient begins teaching in that field.