NYS Masters-in-Education Teacher Incentive Scholarship Program – Service Terms and Conditions

Recipients for the NYS Masters-in-Education Teacher Incentive Scholarship Program awards must execute a service contract in which they:

• Agree to work full-time for five years in a public elementary or secondary school, including charter schools, within NYS, regardless of the number or amount of award payments.

• Agree to repay the amounts disbursed plus interest pursuant to the terms of their service contract if they:
  
  • fail to begin teaching in a public elementary or secondary school, including charter schools, located in NYS within two years of completing their degree and receiving their initial certification; or
  • fail to teach in a public elementary or secondary school, including charter schools, located in NYS for five of the seven years after completing their degree and receiving their initial certification; or
  • fail to complete their graduate degree program in education; or
  • fail to receive or maintain their teaching certificate or license in NYS; or
  • fail to respond to requests by HESC for the status of their academic or professional progress.

Failure to comply with the statutory, regulatory, contractual, administrative or other requirements of this program will result in the following repayment penalties:

• All award monies received shall convert to a 10-year student loan plus interest.
• Interest rate for the life of the loan shall be fixed and equal to that published annually by the U.S. Department of Education for Undergraduate Unsubsidized Stafford loans at the time the service contract is signed.
• Interest accrues from the day each award payment is disbursed.
• Interest shall be capitalized on the day the award recipient violates the service contract or on the date HESC deems the recipient was no longer able or willing to perform the terms of the service contract.