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HSFPP Update # 201— Are You Interested in Becoming a Teacher? It Just Became Easier.

Message from Flashman: This week’s lesson is all about the relationship between career choice and funding available to help pay for that career, as well as the need to keep up with changing legislation and how it affects funding for postsecondary education.

Message from De’Ja: There is no escaping the fact that college costs are rising. According to recently released reports from the College Board, most students and their families can expect to pay, on average, from $95 to $1,404 more than last year for this year's tuition and fees, depending on the type of college. So, with college tuition heading toward the stratosphere this year, you might be wondering whether a college degree is still a good investment, especially if you face the prospect of going into debt to pay for it. That is why one of your best bets could be getting a degree in teaching.

According to the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, which President Bush signed into law in September 2007, teaching is one career for which grants and loan forgiveness are now available, making it worthwhile for more people get a teaching degree. One section of the new law provides “up to $4,000 a year in grant aid to undergraduate and graduate students and students enrolled in a post-baccalaureate teacher credential program, or current or prospective teachers.” (NASFAA)

Academic Expectations:

Academic Expectation 2.18
Students understand economic principles and are able to make economic decisions that have consequences in daily living.

Academic Expectation 2.33
Students demonstrate the skills to evaluate and use services and Expectation resources available in their community.

Academic Expectation 1.2
Students make sense of the variety of materials they read.

Academic Expectation 2.30
Students evaluate consumer products and services and make effective consumer decisions.

 

Web Site Picks of the Week:

FinAid’s Web site provides helpful information on scholarships, loans, college savings plans, military aid and other types of aid, as well as calculators and information on financial aid applications.
http://www.finaid.org/

 

In the New$... Are You Interested in Becoming a Teacher? It Just Became Easier

by De’Ja Hall, a UK student who is majoring in Family and Consumer Sciences

When choosing among various types of careers, the student needs to look at the cost of an education. Today’s student could easily end up with between $30,000, $40,000, or more in debt from student loans. Even if you graduate with the average level of educational debt—about $18,000—you may be jeopardizing your financial worth. Many new college graduates find their loan payments are so big that they can’t save toward other goals, such as a new car or a house. It’s up to you to place limits on how much educational debt you’re willing to incur and can comfortably afford to repay based on what your job will likely pay upon your graduation.

The type of career you select, as well as factors associated with that career choice, can affect how much your college education will cost.

A good example of this is the choice to become a teacher. Under the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007, Section 104,$4,000 a year in grant aid is available for “undergraduate and graduate students and students enrolled in a post-baccalaureate teacher credential program, or current or prospective teachers.”

The College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 also provides additional funding (Pell grant) to assist low-income students in paying postsecondary educational expenses. A Pell Grant, unlike a loan, does not have to be repaid. Pell Grants are usually awarded only to undergraduate students who have not earned a bachelor's or a professional degree. Pell Grants are considered a foundation of federal financial aid, to which aid from other federal and nonfederal sources might be added.

Another source of money for which all Kentucky high school students can qualify no matter their family or individual income is the Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship (KEES). Students making good grades (2.5 GPA or higher) can earn scholarships for college or technical school. The better students do in high school, the more they will earn toward college scholarships.
According to the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority (KHEAA):

“Your SAT composite score will be converted to a comparable ACT score. The highest ACT or converted SAT score recorded by your graduation date will be used to determine your supplemental award. Remember: to receive a supplemental award, you must be eligible for at least one base scholarship award, which means achieving at least a 2.5 cumulative grade point average (GPA) at the end of at least one academic year in a public or certified non-public high school. Non-certified high school students and GED recipients will not have GPA information collected on them.

“Listed below are the base amounts for each GPA. For instance, a high school freshman who earns a 3.5 GPA would have a $375 scholarship for each year of postsecondary study. Amounts are subject to future adjustment based on availability of funds.”

GPA	Amount
2.50	$125
2.60	150
2.70	175
2.75	187
2.80	200
2.90	225
3.00	250
3.10	275
3.20	300
3.25	312
3.30	325
3.40	350
3.50	375
3.60	400
3.70	425
3.75	437
3.80	450
3.90	475
4.00	500

According to KHEAA, students do have benefits depending upon the career they choose:

“The Student Loan People provides programs and services with funds generated through the use of tax-exempt bonds to finance student loans ... Revenue is returned to Kentucky students in the form of annual contributions to the state’s need-based financial aid programs; free college planning publications; a comprehensive, statewide outreach program; the lowest-cost Federal Stafford Loans for Kentucky students; and student loan interest and principal forgiveness for Kentucky teachers and nurses.” (KHEAA)

The Stafford Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program (TLFP) is intended to encourage individuals to enter and continue in the teaching profession in certain eligible elementary and secondary schools that serve low-income families. Under the TLFP, if you borrow funds through the Federal Stafford Loan Program (either FFELP or FDLP), and teach for five consecutive, complete years at an eligible school, you may qualify to have:

• $5,000 of your loan balance forgiven or
• $17,500 forgiven for certain “highly qualified secondary math and science teachers, and elementary and secondary special education teachers.”

Sources:

These are a few sites that students and their families can use to find more information about anything in this update: grants, scholarships, loan forgiveness, etc.

Grants — http://grant.careersandcolleges.com

Scholarships — http://www.finaid.org/scholarships/

Student Loans/Loan Forgiveness — http://www.kheaa.com/pdf/reports/report_200501.pdf

Educational Info — http://www.nasfaa.org/Publications/2007/G2669summary091007.html

Discussion Questions:

1. What are your thoughts about the rise in the cost of an education? 

a) Should the state government place limits on how much public postsecondary schools can raise tuition? Yes ___  No ___ Why or why not?

b) Should the federal and state governments provide more funding to support postsecondary education? Yes ___  No ___ Why or why not

c) How would you go about reducing the cost of higher education?

2. Do you think it is fair that you have to base what career you choose on the amount of debt you will likely acquire in pursuing that particular field of education?

3. Given this new information, do plan to change your career plans? Yes ___  No ___  If yes, how?

4.Do you plan to spend more time studying in high school to raise your grades in order to increase the amount of KEES funds you will receive?

5.Do you know what to do to avoid some of the debt that you could take on in pursuing a college education?

 

Follow-up Activity:

1. Explain the type of postsecondary education you plan to work toward and how you plan to attain it, based on what you have learned so far. (Use the steps in Unit 1 in the HSFPP.)

 

2. Explain why you selected the educational institution and program you plan to attend.

 

3.Calculate the cost and how you plan to pay for it.

 

4.How long will it take for you to pay off those student loans?

 

Kentucky High School Financial Planning Program

http://www.ca.uky.edu/fcs/hsfp

The purpose of the HSFPP financial updates, video lessons, and Web site is to assist county Extension agents, credit union educators, high school teachers, and parents who home school their teenagers so that they may improve the economic well-being of our teenagers; and also to show educators how the HSFPP, updates, and video lessons meet Kentucky core concepts. The Web site, updates, and video lessons are provided by the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service, and are free to all educators. The list of core concepts and order form for free program materials including the student guide and instructors manual can be found on the Kentucky HSFPP home page.

If you are not already on our listserv:

The video lessons are available only to members of our listserv and will not be posted to the HSFPP Web site because of the timeliness of the information. If you would like to receive our video lessons, which are sent to our listserv biweekly, on alternate weeks from these updates, please sign up at the following page of our Web site: http://www.ca.uky.edu/fcs/HSFP/response.htm.