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Contents:
NEW October 2011
April 2011
July 2010
November 2009
Templates for Pre-scholarship Agreements and Exit Certifications
According to Section E (a) and (c) of the 2005 Requirements and Section § 304.23 of the 2006 Regulations, Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) are required to provide scholars/obligees with pre-scholarship agreements and exit certifications outlining the terms and conditions of the Personnel Development Program Grant funding.
The Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) has developed standard pre-scholarship agreements and exit certification templates because some scholar/obligees:
- Have not been provided pre-scholarship agreements or exit certifications;
- Have been provided vague pre-scholarship agreements or exit certifications that do not reference the 2005 Requirements or 2006 Regulations;
- Have been provided inaccurate pre-scholarship agreements or exit certifications
- Have been provided pre-scholarship agreements or exit certifications that include stipulations outside of the program Requirements or Regulations.
Due to these reasons, some scholars/obligees may not be required to fulfill \ repay scholarship obligations despite having received scholarship funds. Please note that IHEs are responsible for the accuracy and maintenance of these documents for funded scholars/obligees.
OSEP and NCSO strongly encourage IHEs to use the U.S. Department of Education pre-approved templates for the pre-scholarship agreements and exit certifications to be provided to scholars/obligees and maintained by IHEs. To supplement the pre-scholarship agreements and exit certifications, grantees must also disseminate copies of the regulations/requirements and frequently asked questions (FAQs), to scholars/obligees.
Select the link(s) below to access copies of the templates for pre-scholarship agreements, exit certifications, corresponding program regulations/requirements and FAQs:
Templates on blank letterhead:
Grant Awarded in Fiscal Year 2005
Grant Awarded in Fiscal Year 2006 and Any Year Thereafter
Templates on U.S. Department of Education (ED) Letterhead:
Grant Awarded in Fiscal Year 2005 on ED Letterhead
Grant Awarded in Fiscal Year 2006 and Any Year Thereafter on ED Letterhead
Definition and calculation of “academic year”
Please review the definition and calculation of “academic year” for calculating how long a scholar/obligee is funded under a grant, which determines the length of his or her service obligation. Please note that it is NOT based on the length of time the scholar/obligee was in the training program. Please refer to the FAQs for the definition of “academic year.”
- FAQ #2. How is the term “academic year” defined for purposes of the service obligation work or repayment requirement?
- FAQ#10. How is the length of the service obligation calculated?
Select the link below to access FAQs governing your grant.
FY 2005 Service Obligation FAQs
FY 2006 and later Service Obligation FAQs
Reminder e-mails sent to scholars/obligees in November 2010 and February 2011
In November 2010 and February 2011, NCSO sent reminder e-mails to scholars/obligees whose information was submitted by their Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) into the SOTS, but who had not accessed the SOTS. The reminder e-mails encouraged the scholars/obligees to log into the online data system and enter eligible employment information, if applicable. Please note that scholars/obligees have 60 days after exiting/completing the training program to provide NCSO with any updated contact and employment information. Please encourage scholars/obligees to contact the NCSO Helpdesk for assistance with the SOTS or program regulations/requirements.
Reporting international address contact information
Please note that at this time, the SOTS only collects domestic address information. If you need to report an international address for a scholar/obligee or a scholar/obligee needs to report employment information outside of the United States, please contact or have the scholar/obligee contact the NCSO Helpdesk to report the information.
IHE reporting requirements
According to the service obligation regulations/requirements, IHEs are required to provide scholar/obligee contact and service obligation information when a scholar/obligee exits or graduates a training program. Additionally, NCSO encourages Project Directors to enter records for all scholars who are enrolled in funded training programs. NCSO will continue to send reminder e-mails and phone calls to encourage timely and accurate reporting.
OSEP Project Directors' 2010 Conference Materials
NCSO Helpful Hints for grants governed by 2005 Requirements
NCSO Helpful Hints for grants governed by 2006 Regulations
NCSO Helpful Hints Power Point Presentation
Pre-scholarship agreements and exit certifications
Institutions of Higher Education (IHE) are responsible for the accuracy of the pre-scholarship agreements and exit certifications which are legally binding documents as long as they are consistent with the requirements in the regulations that govern their grant available on the NCSO Web site. Please refer to frequently asked question (FAQ) 35 regarding the information to be provided in the exit certifications.
In addition, NCSO encourages you to provide scholars/obligees with a copy of the requirements or regulations and the appropriate FAQs governing their grant.
FY 2005 Service Obligation Requirements
FY 2006 Service Obligation Regulations
Provide scholars/obligees with NCSO’s contact information
All pre-scholarship agreements and exit certifications should include the purpose and contact information of NCSO including the NCSO Helpdesk, and the SOTS. This information should also be provided to obligees that have exited and currently enrolled scholars.
Please find the contact information for NCSO below:
NCSO
P.O. Box 2335
Hyattsville, MD 20784-2324
SOTS http://www.servicobligations.ed.gov/sots.cfm
Web site http://www.serviceobligations.ed.gov/
Toll Free Hotline, 9-5 ET M-F
1-800-285-NCSO (6276)
For TTY dial 711 for your state’s
Relay Service Provider or dial extension 3 when connected.
E-mail
info@serviceobligation.org
Fax
1-301-576-5187
New frequently asked questions (FAQs) including SOTS FAQs
NCSO has added SOTS FAQs to assist grantees, scholars, obligees, and employers with accessing and navigating the system as well as uploading information when necessary.
In addition, NCSO has added new regulatory FAQs:
- FAQ#6. Are scholar/obligee pre-scholarship agreements and exit certifications legally binding?
- FAQ#7. Can Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) add stipulations or specific requirements to the service obligation of scholars?
- FAQ# 8. How do scholars fulfill their service obligation?
- FAQ#20. Can the service obligation be satisfied by working as post-secondary faculty at a university or college in a country outside of the United States, its territories and the Freely Associated States?
- FAQ#26. How do scholars/obligees request a deferral or exception for their service obligation?
- FAQ#31. If scholars/obligees receive grant funding from both the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) programs, can they satisfy service obligations under both programs at the same time?
- FAQ#34. Can Personnel Development Program grants be used to fund foreign scholars?
Select the link below to access FAQs governing your grant
FY 2005 Service Obligation FAQs
FY 2006 and later Service Obligation FAQs
Service Obligation Tracking System (SOTS) FAQs
Reminder e-mails sent to scholars/obligees in January and June 2010
In January and June 2010, NCSO sent out reminder e-mails to scholars/obligees whose information was submitted by their IHEs into the SOTS prior to April 1, 2010. The reminder e-mails encouraged the scholars/obligees to log into the SOTS and enter eligible employment information if applicable. Please note that scholars/obligees have 60 days after exiting/completing the training program to provide NCSO with any updated contact and employment information. Please encourage scholars/obligees to contact the NCSO Helpdesk for assistance with the SOTS or program rules.
Official documentation for obtaining scholars'/obligees' Social Security numbers (SSN)
On February 22, 2010 NCSO e-mailed a letter from the U.S. Department of Education to all project directors listed in the SOTS about the requirement to obtain scholars'/obligees' SSNs.Please contact the NCSO Helpdesk if you have not received this letter or have difficulty obtaining scholars'/obligees' SSNs.
Scholars/obligees were provided access to the SOTS on 09/28/2009
Scholars/obligees were provided access when their complete records were submitted by the Institution of Higher Education (IHE) and they met one of the following conditions:
- Graduated/completed a training program;
- Exited without completing a training program;
- Enrolled and have completed one academic year of training.
The scholars/obligees received a notification e-mail providing them with a secure log-in link to access the SOTS. These types of scholars/obligees are now automatically provided access once their IHE submits their record.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) added to NCSO Web site
The FAQs pertaining to your grant(s) are now available on the NCSO Website, including the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) response to the provision of scholars’/obligees’ Social Security numbers (SSNs). Follow this link to view the FAQs menu page. On this page, you will find the complete list of FAQs specific to the 1999 Regulations, 2005 requirements, and 2006 Regulations.
Department of Education provides legal basis for provision of scholars/obligees Social Security numbers to NCSO
A FAQ addressing the provision of scholars'/obligees' SSNs has been added to the 2005 and 2006 FAQs. Click on the link below to access the question:
2005 Requirements: http://www.serviceobligations.ed.gov/2005faq.cfm#151
2006 Regulations: http://www.serviceobligations.ed.gov/2006faq.cfm#151
No hard copies of information are necessary
Contact information, employment changes, and termination letters for scholars/obligees are no longer required to be sent to NCSO or OSEP. The SOTS will serve to collect the contact information, employment information and service obligation fulfillment of scholars/obligees. For scholars/obligees entering repayment, submission of scholars’/obligees’ records on the SOTS is sufficient. The scholar’s/obligee’s program completion status and program duration will determine if he or she must be referred for repayment. Upon successful submission of the scholar’s/obligee’s record, NCSO will facilitate the referral for repayment to the Accounts Receivables Group (ARG) of the U.S. Department of Education. ARG will then contact the scholar/obligee directly to discuss repayment options.
Please note that scholars/obligees may also voluntarily enter repayment by calling the NCSO Helpdesk.
IHEs cannot alter terms of service obligation in scholarship agreement
Any contractual service agreement created by IHEs for scholars’/obligees’ funding must be in compliance with the 2005 Requirements or the 2006 Regulations, found on the NCSO Web site at http://www.serviceobligations.ed.gov/programRegs.cfm.
IHEs are NOT allowed to extend the scope or create any other stipulations (i.e., specify populations to be served or geographic requirements) outside of the 2005 Requirements and 2006 Regulations.
