What is a forgivable loan?
The Noyce Scholarship Program is considered to be a forgivable loan because you can repay the loan by agreeing to teach in a high need middle or high school for two years for each year of support you receive. Recipients of scholarships must commit to completion of two years of service as a mathematics or science teacher for each year the scholarship is received. Service must be completed within 8 years after graduation from the program for which the scholarship was awarded and must be performed in a high-need local educational agency.
Does the Noyce Teacher Academy pick the school where I must teach?
No, you get to choose the school(s) where you would like to teach as long as the school meets the criteria of being a high need school. It is your responsibility to complete all the requirements for eligibility for a teaching position. These requirements include successful completion of your mathematics, biology, or chemistry major, the 24 credits of Education courses including student teaching, and 3 certification tests. You must participate in the interview process for teaching positions and satisfy the required background checks.
What does “high need school” mean?
The term "high need local educational agency" means a local educational agency that serves a middle or high school located in an area in which there is:
1. a high percentage of individuals from families with incomes below the poverty line;
2. a high percentage of secondary school teachers not teaching in the content area in which the teachers were trained to teach;
3. a high teacher turnover rate.
What if I want to go to Graduate School before completing my teaching obligation?
You have time to go to Graduate School before completing your teaching obligation. Service must be completed within 8 years after graduation from the program for which the scholarship was awarded and must be performed in a high need local educational agency.
How will compliance with the requirement of teaching in a high need school be monitored?
The College of Staten Island will require that each recipient of a Noyce scholarship sign a commitment letter that indicates acceptance of the terms of the scholarship. These terms require the recipient to teach 2 years in a high need middle or high school for each year of scholarship award; to provide the institution with annual certification of employment and up-to-date contact information and to participate in surveys provided by the institution of higher education and program evaluators as part of project-level and program evaluation efforts. Monitoring compliance with the service requirement and converting scholarship to loan for default of the requirement will be handled through the College of Staten Island’s Financial Aid Office. CUNY’s billing and collection agents (in a process similar to its Perkins loan program) would handle servicing any converted loan and collection activities.