Appendix K - NYS Masters in Education Teacher Incentive Scholarship Program

An applicant must:

• be a NYS resident and have resided in NYS for 12 continuous months prior to the beginning of the term;
• be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen;
• have received an undergraduate degree from a college/university located in NYS and have been a NYS resident while earning this degree;
• have earned a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.5 or higher upon completion of his or her undergraduate study;
• be matriculated in an approved master’s degree in education program at a SUNY or CUNY college or university which leads to certification as a public elementary or secondary education teacher;
• be enrolled in such program on a full-time basis;
• be in a non-default status on a student loan made under any NYS or federal education loan program or repayment of any NYS award;
• be in compliance with the terms of any service condition imposed by a NYS award;
• earn a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher each term of graduate study; and
• execute a Service Contract agreeing to teach for five years in a classroom at a public elementary or secondary school, including charter schools, located in NYS.

A recipient receives an annual award for full-time study up to the annual tuition charged to NYS resident students attending a graduate program at the State University of New York (SUNY) or actual tuition, whichever is less. Awards will be reduced by the amount of any other tuition-only assistance received.

NOTE: A recipient of an award under this program is not eligible for an award under the New York State Math and Science Teaching Incentive Program.

A recipient is entitled to a maximum of four semester payments, or its equivalent, for full-time graduate study leading to certification as an elementary or secondary classroom teacher.

Students selected for the MIE award will appear on a 300 series roster, created specifically for MIE recipients. This roster will look and process like a TAP roster and will be produced on the same schedule as TAP rosters but will not include any pre-payments since certifications should not be submitted until the end of the term. TAP Certifying Officers are required to certify the 300 series roster in the same manner as a TAP roster.

The MIE rosters are available electronically or can be located in HESC’s secure Transaction Processing under the Grants and Scholarships Reports tab. Select the Details tab for HE8069 Payment Roster to view/print a 300 series roster.

In cases where MIE recipients are eligible for multiple awards, HESC will process in the following manner:

• MIE recipients with Veteran Tuition Awards (VTA) on a prior TAP roster will be decertified by HESC and placed on a subsequent 300 series roster with their MIE award. Schools will not be able to certify VTA awards separately.

Before certifying the roster, TAP Certifying Officers must determine that the student has satisfied the following requirements:

1. The student is matriculated in an approved master’s degree program in education.

• An approved program is one that leads to certification as a classroom teacher in elementary or secondary education in NYS as required by SED, including enrichment and supplemental instruction that may be offered to a subset of students.
• Programs in support services such as counseling, speech therapy or occupational therapy services, are NOT approved programs.

2. The student earned (successfully completed) a minimum number of full-time semester hours of credit, toward the graduate degree, with at least a 3.5 cumulative GPA for each term an award is received.

• The full-time requirement is defined by the school. For example, if a school defines full time as nine credits, a student taking at least nine credits can be certified for the award.
• There is a final term exception to the full-time requirement if the student needs less than nine credits to complete the degree. The final term MIE award is based on the actual tuition for the reduced-credit term.
• The number of credits the student is taking does not need to be reported to HESC. Rather, the student should merely be certified as full time (FT).

3. The student is a NYS resident.

In addition, the school must report the following on the roster:

1. The actual tuition amount incurred by the student.
2. In the “Other Benefits” column, any aid a recipient receives that is limited to tuition. The MIE award is applied after tuition is reduced by other tuition-only aid.

Certification should not be submitted until after the term has ended, when grades are available to assess the GPA requirement.

The school must certify the MIE -300 series roster in the same manner as a TAP roster. For detailed certification instructions refer to Chapter 3, section 3.01(e) for eligibility guidelines and Chapter 5: Certification Procedures

Payments will be disbursed after the certification of the roster. As with Tap payments, MIE payments will be reflected in PAYDOCS in the Reports section of HESCWeb Transaction Processing

Direct questions regarding eligibility for the MIE program to [email protected].

Questions regarding certification or payment of MIE awards may be directed to [email protected].