The AmeriCorps Education Award is granted to members who are serving, part-time or full-time, in participating programs through

AmeriCorps AmeriCorps (officially the Corporation for National and Community Service or CNCS) is an independent agency of the United States government that engages more than five million Americans in service through a variety of stipended volunteer work prog ...

. After completing a term of service, AmeriCorps members are eligible to receive the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award to pay education costs at qualified institutions of

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completi ...

, for educational training, or to repay qualified

student loan A student loan is a type of loan designed to help students pay for post-secondary education and the associated fees, such as tuition, books and supplies, and living expenses. It may differ from other types of loans in the fact that the interest r ...

s. The current maximum award is $6,495.00 as of October 1, 2020.

Serve America Act of 2009

The Serve America Act, implemented by Congress and effective October 1, 2009, made important changes to the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award. Changes include increasing the amount of the award by tying its value to the maximum

Pell Grant A Pell Grant is a subsidy the U.S. federal government provides for students who need it to pay for college. Federal Pell Grants are limited to students with financial need, who have not earned their first bachelor's degree, or who are enrolled ...

, expanding its available uses, and authorizing transferability of the award for certain individuals. Though not all changes were implemented by October 2009, rules were finalized in 2010. Under the new act, the education award can be used to pay expenses while participating in an approved school-to-work program in addition to the previous uses towards qualified

s and university education expenses. For certain AmeriCorps programs, AmeriCorps State and National and Silver Service education awards earned after October 1, 2009 may be transferred to members' children, grandchildren, or foster children as long as the member was at least 55 years of age when he or she enrolled and began service after that date. There is also a process in place to develop new term limits for the Corporation for National and Community Service. As a current rule, members of AmeriCorps may only participate in AmeriCorps and receive an education award for a maximum of two years, although new rules may allow members of AmeriCorps serving part-time for a greater period of time. The AmeriCorps members may use their education award up to seven years after the end of their service, but the award will be taxed in the year in which it is used. However, members may qualify to use the

Hope credit The Hope credit, provided by (b), was available to taxpayers who have incurred expenses related to the first two years of post-secondary education. For this credit to be claimed by a taxpayer, the student must attend school on at least a part-ti ...

or the Lifelong Learning Credit which may provide significant tax relief.

Qualified loans

The majority of postsecondary loans backed by the federal government are eligible for repayment with these awards as well. There are a number of them, including: * Stafford Loans *

Perkins Loan A Federal Perkins Loan, or Perkins Loan, was a need-based student loan part of the Federal Direct Student Loan Program, offered by the U.S. Department of Education to assist American college students in funding their post-secondary education. Th ...

* William D. Ford Direct Loans * Federal Consolidated Loans * Supplemental Loans for Students * Health Education Assistance Loans * Loans from state agencies, or state institutions of higher education

Qualified schools

A school is qualified to accept the Segal

Education Award if it is a

Title IV Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) covers the administration of the United States federal student financial aid programs. American colleges and universities are generally classified with regard to their inclusion under Title IV, ...

institution (this includes most colleges, universities, and graduate schools).AmeriCorps website
/ref>

Notes

External links

AmeriCorps

Corporation for National and Community Service
AmeriCorps organizations