In a June 2, 2020 Electronic Announcement, we provided Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Closeout information for the 2019–20 Award Year. This announcement provides additional information to supplement the previous guidance. As a reminder, to be considered successfully closed out, a school must—
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Have an Ending Cash Balance (Net Drawdowns – Total Net Booked Disbursements) of $0 and Total Net Unbooked Disbursements of $0, as reflected on its TEACH Grant School Account Statement (SAS) Report.
Schools participating in the TEACH Grant Program are able to officially confirm closeout via the School Balance Confirmation page on the Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) website. Schools should be sure to choose the correct program and award year in the dropdowns.
As a reminder, all cash management, disbursement/adjustment reporting, and monthly reconciliation regulatory requirements supersede the closeout deadline. If a school is meeting these regulatory requirements, they should be able to reach a $0 ending cash balance and be fully reconciled within a month or two of their final scheduled disbursements for a given program and year. Schools should not wait until the closeout deadline to be fully reconciled to a $0 ending cash balance.
When is the processing deadline?
There are two separate deadlines for a school to consider as it completes TEACH Grant processing for the 2019–20 Award Year:
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The processing deadline to submit TEACH Grant award and disbursement records is 9 p.m. Eastern time (ET) on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020. The COD System subsequently must accept all records submitted by the processing deadline in order for them to be included in the school's final TEACH Grant Ending Cash Balance for 2019–20. Any 2019–20 Award Year batches or records received after the processing deadline will be rejected and returned to the school. As such, schools should complete all final reconciliation activities well before this final deadline and report all disbursement data in accordance with regulatory requirements, as noted above.
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However, for actual disbursements to generate the appropriate funding level increase in G5 prior to the scheduled G5 shutdown, they must be received, and subsequently accepted, by the COD System no later than 8 a.m. ET on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020. Schools should plan final closeout efforts accordingly.
Note: In other Electronic Announcements posted on September 3, 2020, we provide comprehensive information related to activities and deadlines that coincide with the end of the federal fiscal year (one is about the end of the federal fiscal year and one is about the Pell Grant and Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant 2019–20 Award Year processing deadline). Schools should ensure that 1) all necessary reports are obtained and 2) all applicable 2019–20 origination, disbursement, and change records are submitted and accepted prior to the processing deadlines.
When is the deadline for drawdowns, drawdown adjustments, and/or refunds of cash?
Drawdowns, drawdown adjustments, and/or refunds of cash must be requested no later than 9 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020.
As of the Sept. 30, 2020 deadline, all schools will have their Current Funding Level (CFL) reduced to the greater of Net Drawdowns/Payments or Net Accepted & Posted Disbursements on the COD System. Accordingly, schools should request necessary drawdowns as soon as possible to ensure the requests are processed prior to the TEACH Grant processing deadline.
Note: Refunds of cash can take up to 7-9 days to process through G5 and be reflected in the COD System. Refunds processed in close proximity to the processing deadline will not be included in your final balance as reflected on the final TEACH Grant SAS. Refunds should be made as soon as possible, and within regulatory requirements.
How can a school review its current balances?
Schools should refer to their most recent TEACH Grant SAS for their official ending cash balance and to perform monthly reconciliation.
To view up-to-date cash balance information at any time, schools may access the COD website, School Funding Information Screen. The School Funding Information Screen is updated daily and allows a school to review its Net Drawdowns, Net Accepted & Posted Disbursements, and Cash > Net Accepted & Posted Disbursement balances.
How will a school learn its final balance?
In early October 2020, we will produce a final 2019–20 TEACH Grant SAS Report and send it to all schools. This will serve as a final record of the school's official Ending Cash Balance for 2019–20 and should be kept as part of your reconciliation documentation.
What if a school does not successfully reconcile to a $0 Ending Cash Balance and/or close out by the deadline?
Any school that has not successfully closed out by the processing deadline and has a positive Ending Cash Balance will be included in the upcoming TEACH Grant Program Demand Letter process, which requires the return of the outstanding balance as a refund of cash. If the outstanding balance is not paid by the deadline noted in the letter, a receivable will be established, and the school will be billed accordingly.
Any school that has not successfully closed out by the processing deadline and has a negative Ending Cash Balance will be included in the upcoming TEACH Grant Program Negative Balance Letter process, which requires the resolution of the outstanding balance.
What if my school has previously confirmed closeout and/or it is past the processing deadline, but now we have additional adjustments to report?
Schools should use the “Request Reopen/Extended Processing” page on the COD website to make these requests.
If the request is made prior to the final processing deadline, the COD website will immediately allow the school to reopen and resume processing for that award year until the school completes the confirmation process again or the data submission deadline has passed. The reopen request is managed by the COD System and should appear seamless to the user.
If the request is made after the final processing deadline, the request will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and granted for authorized reason(s). The school will be given further instructions via the “Request Reopen/Extended Processing” page on the COD website upon submission of their request, in the event additional time is needed to complete this review.
Contact Information
We appreciate your cooperation as we work to close out the 2019–20 TEACH Grant Award Year. If you have questions about this announcement or need assistance with closeout, contact the COD School Relations Center at 1-800-848-0978. You may also email CODSupport@ed.gov.