State Universities Hesitant To Use Federal TEACH Grant Program

A recent report says some federal grant money for teachers is turning into loans instead, and some Indiana universities were already hesitant to use the program.

The Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) grant program helps educators pay for school. Specifically, those who plan to, or already, teach high-demand subjects - like math, science, or special education - in low-income schools.

Last year, about 145 of those grants were awarded in Indiana, but a national report says most of them turn into loans. And Purdue University’s Director of Financial Aid, Ted Malone, says he thinks the program is deceptive.

“Because it’s called a grant program, and it really isn’t,” Malone says.

He says Purdue focuses on helping graduate students use the program because they’re usually already teaching and have a better chance at not paying that money back. But Malone says if it were only up to him, Purdue wouldn’t participate in it at all.

“I would be so much more comfortable with this thing if it didn’t come off as free money that you might have to pay back, rather than taking it as money you have to pay back that you might not have to if you jump the right hoop,” Malone says.

Most TEACH grant awards in Indiana come out of private universities or colleges, and Indiana University doesn’t participate in the program at all.