Institutions have until the last day of September 2024 to process, reconcile, and submit their TEACH Grant program data to the Department of Education for the current academic year. The electronic announcement provides detailed reminders for financial aid offices are required to submit; this includes disbursement adjustment reporting, cash management, and a zero ending cash balance.
Read the complete announcement below.
POSTED DATE: May 28, 2024
AUTHOR: Federal Student Aid
ELECTRONIC ANNOUNCEMENT: ID GRANTS-24-06
SUBJECT: TEACH Grant Closeout Information for 2023–24 Award Year
The Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant data submission (closeout) deadline for the 2023–24 award year is Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. This is the last processing day of the award year. All school data must be received and accepted by this date to be included in a school’s final Ending Cash Balance for the year.
To be considered successfully closed out, the school must—
- Reconcile to a Zero Ending Cash Balance (Net Drawdowns – Total Net Booked Disbursements) of $0 and Total Net Unbooked Disbursements of $0, as reflected on your monthly TEACH Grant School Account Statement (SAS) and in your school’s internal records.
Schools participating in the TEACH Grant Program can officially confirm closeout via the School Balance Confirmation page on the COD website for the 2023–24 award year. After the data submission deadline, schools will be billed for remaining balances owed to the U.S. Department of Education (the Department).
As a reminder, all cash management, disbursement and disbursement adjustment reporting, and monthly reconciliation regulatory requirements supersede the data submission (closeout) deadline. If a school meets these regulatory requirements, it should be able to reach a zero ($0) ending cash balance and be fully reconciled within a month or two of its final scheduled disbursements for a given program and year. A school should be fully reconciled to a zero ($0) ending cash balance before the data submission deadline.
To assist schools in achieving a successful closeout, we will send Balance Notification emails to notify schools of their current Ending Cash Balance and provide general information regarding the closeout process. These emails will be sent to the Financial Aid Administrator and President at each school.
A school must be aware of its closeout status even if a third-party service handles its TEACH Grant processing. We encourage each school to regularly communicate and reconcile its internal records with its third-party servicer to ensure reconciliation and closeout are complete. It is the school’s responsibility to ensure that it finishes processing, reconciles, and completes closeout on time.
A key factor to an easy reconciliation and closeout is closely monitoring the process. We encourage schools to review the following information:
- Complete monthly reconciliation. This should include:
- Internal reconciliation – compare internal student accounts and Business Office and/or Bursar records with Financial Aid Office records and resolve any discrepancies.
- External reconciliation – compare internal records to your TEACH Grant SAS sent via your Student Aid Internet Gateway (SAIG) mailbox.
- Resolution of any discrepancies and documentation of any outstanding timing issues.
- Ensure all drawdowns and refunds of cash are accounted for and applied to the correct program year.
- Ensure all batches have been sent to and accepted by the Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) System, all disbursements and adjustments are accurately reflected on the COD System, and all responses are imported into the school’s system.
- Resolve all outstanding rejected records.
- Return all refunds of cash to the Department.
- Request any remaining funds owed to the school based on actual disbursements accepted by the COD System.
Contact Information
We appreciate your cooperation as we work to close out the 2023–24 TEACH Grant award year. If you have questions about this announcement or need assistance with closeout, contact the FSA Partner and School Relations Center at 1-800-848-0978. You may also email CODSupport@ed.gov.
To access the Department’s list of Frequently Asked Questions, click here.
SOURCE: (GRANTS-24-06) TEACH Grant Closeout Information for 2023–24 Award Year