Teaching

This application is used for the following types of cancellations:

  • Teaching Low-Income Students
  • Mathematics, Science, Foreign Languages, Bilingual Education Teacher
  • Faculty Members at a Tribal College or University
  • Handicapped/Special Education Teacher
  • Librarian

Teacher of Students from Low-Income Families Cancellation

Payments on Federal Perkins student loans may be cancelled for specified teaching services. If your loan is eligible for cancellation, the account will be placed in deferment status and you will not receive a loan billing statement during that period of time.

After completion of one full year of teaching in a low-income school, a percentage of your loan will be cancelled. To determine the percentage of cancellation for each year of service, please refer to the cancellation rate chart.

Eligibility

You must be "A full-time teacher in a low-income public or other nonprofit elementary or secondary school, or by teaching full-time for an educational service agency (ESA) listed in the Teacher Cancellation Low-Income Directory.

For cancellation purposes, a borrower employed by an ESA may be teaching:

  • at a location operated by the ESA (such as a stand-alone school that serves students from many different school districts), or
  • in a conventional elementary and secondary school (such as a vocational education teacher employed by the ESA to teach courses in several different secondary schools).

If a borrower is teaching at a school that is on the list one year but not in subsequent years, the borrower may continue to teach in that school and remain eligible to receive a cancellation for service in that school.

Additionally, your loan must be paid to the start of your cancellation period.

Application Process

There are two ways to apply:

Penn State 
Student Financial Services
108 Shields Building
664 Curtin Road
University Park, PA 16802

Fax: 814-865-6535
  • Contact our office by letter or via the Web with the following information:
    • full name, address, and phone number of your current employer
    • date you were hired full-time
    • name of the county and school district where you are teaching
    • detailed description of your duties

When your documentation is received, our office will send you a notification of eligibility. If you are eligible, you will be notified of your deferment coverage and a cancellation form(s) will be enclosed. Please submit your cancellation form(s) approximately one month prior to the expiration of your deferment.

Once your completed and certified cancellation form(s) is returned to our office, it will be reviewed for final approval. Once approved and your outstanding balance has been reduced through cancellation, you will receive a notification letter and a new cancellation form(s) from our office. Your loan(s) will be automatically deferred for the following year, pending the completion and submission of the new cancellation form(s).

Termination of Employment

If your employment is terminated for any reason, you will receive a grace period of six months from the date of termination. Payments are not required and interest will not accrue during the grace period. Upon termination, please contact our office immediately for further information.

Other Options

If your loan is not eligible for a Teacher of Students from Low-Income Families cancellation and you are unable to meet your scheduled payments, you may apply for an economic hardship deferment or forbearance.

Teacher of Math/Science/Language Cancellation

Payments on Federal Perkins student loans may be cancelled for specified teaching services. If your loan is eligible for cancellation, the account will be placed in deferment status and you will not receive a loan billing statement during that period of time.

After completing one full year of teaching math, science, foreign language, or bilingual education, a portion of your loan will be cancelled. To determine the percentage of cancellation for each year of service, please refer to the cancellation rate chart.

Eligibility

You must be "A full-time teacher in a public or other nonprofit elementary or secondary school in a field of expertise that is determined by a state education agency to have a shortage of qualified teachers in that state." For a borrower to be considered as teaching in a field of expertise that has a shortage of teachers, the majority of classes taught must be in that field of expertise.

A borrower who is teaching in science, mathematics, foreign language, or bilingual education qualifies for cancellation even if the state has not designated the subject area in which he or she is teaching as a shortage area.

Additionally, your loan must be paid to the start of your cancellation period.

Application Process

There are two ways to apply:

Penn State 
Student Financial Services
108 Shields Building
664 Curtin Road
University Park, PA 16802

Fax: 814-865-6535
  • Contact our office by letter or via the Web with the following information:
    • full name, address, and phone number of your current employer
    • county where school is located
    • date you were hired full-time
    • age level of students
    • detailed description of your duties

When your documentation is received, our office will send you a notification of eligibility. If you are eligible, you will be notified of your deferment coverage and a cancellation form(s) will be enclosed. Please submit your cancellation form(s) approximately one month prior to the expiration of your deferment.

Once your completed and certified cancellation form(s) is returned to our office, it will be reviewed for final approval. Once approved and your outstanding balance has been reduced through cancellation, you will receive a notification letter and a new cancellation form(s) from our office. Your loan(s) will be automatically deferred for the following year, pending the completion and submission of the new cancellation form(s).

Termination of Employment

If your employment is terminated for any reason, you will receive a grace period of six months from the date of termination. Payments are not required and interest will not accrue during the grace period. Upon termination, please contact our office immediately for further information.

Other Options

If your loan is not eligible for a Teacher of Math/Science/Language cancellation and you are unable to meet your scheduled payments, you may apply for an economic hardship deferment or forbearance.

Faculty Member at a Tribal College or University Cancellation

Payments on Federal Perkins student loans may be cancelled for specified professional services. If your loan is eligible for cancellation, the account will be placed in deferment status and you will not receive a loan billing statement during that period of time.

After completion of one full year of service as a full-time faculty member at a Tribal College or University, a portion of your loan will be cancelled. To determine the percentage of cancellation for each year of service, please refer to the cancellation rate chart.

Eligibility

You must be a full-time faculty member at a Tribal College or University on or after August 14, 2008.

Additionally, your loan must be paid to the start of your cancellation period.

Tribal college or university

An institution that

  • Qualifies for funding under the Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities Assistance Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) or the Navajo Community College Assistance Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 640a note); or
  • Is cited in section 532 of the Equity in Education Land Grant Status Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 301 note). 34 CFR 674.51(bb)

List of accredited Tribal Colleges and Universities. 

Application Process

There are two ways to apply:

Penn State 
Student Financial Services
108 Shields Building
664 Curtin Road
University Park, PA 16802

Fax: 814-865-6535
  • Contact our office by letter or via the Web with the following information:
    • full name, address, and phone number of your current employer
    • date you were hired full-time
    • detailed description of your duties

When your documentation is received, our office will send you a notification of eligibility. If you are eligible, you will be notified of your deferment coverage and a cancellation form(s) will be enclosed. Please submit your cancellation form(s) approximately one month prior to the expiration of your deferment.

Once your completed and certified cancellation form(s) is returned to our office, it will be reviewed for final approval. Once approved and your outstanding balance has been reduced through cancellation, you will receive a notification letter and a new cancellation form(s) from our office. Your loan(s) will be automatically deferred for the following year, pending the completion and submission of the new cancellation form(s).

Termination of Employment

If your employment is terminated for any reason, you will receive a grace period of six months from the date of termination. Payments are not required and interest will not accrue during the grace period. Upon termination, please contact our office immediately for further information.

Other Options

If your loan is not eligible for a Full-Time Faculty Member at a Tribal College or University cancellation and you are unable to meet your scheduled payments, you may apply for an economic hardship deferment or forbearance.

Teacher of Handicapped/Special Education Cancellation

Payments on Federal Perkins student loans may be cancelled for specified teaching services. If your loan is eligible for cancellation, the account will be placed in deferment status and you will not receive a loan billing statement during that period of time.

After completion of one full year of service as a teacher of special education, a portion of your loan will be cancelled. To determine the percentage of cancellation for each year of service, please refer to the cancellation rate chart.

Eligibility

You must be a full-time special-education teacher, including teacher of infants, toddlers, children, or youth with disabilities, in a public or other nonprofit elementary or secondary school.

A person performing one of the following services is considered a teacher if the service is part of the educational curriculum for handicapped children:

  1. speech and language pathology and audiology;
  2. physical therapy;
  3. occupational therapy;
  4. psychological and counseling services; or
  5. recreational therapy

To qualify for cancellation, the borrower must be licensed, certified, or registered by the appropriate state education agency for that area in which he or she is providing related special educational services.

Additionally, your loan must be paid to the start of your cancellation period.

Application Process

There are two ways to apply:

  1. Submit an application
Penn State 
Student Financial Services
108 Shields Building
664 Curtin Road
University Park, PA 16802

Fax: 814-865-6535
  1. Contact our office by letter or via the Web with the following information:
    • full name, address, and phone number of your current employer
    • date you were hired full-time
    • detailed description of your duties
    • the age level of the children under your care

When your documentation is received, our office will send you a notification of eligibility. If you are eligible, you will be notified of your deferment coverage and a cancellation form(s) will be enclosed. Please submit your cancellation form(s) approximately one month prior to the expiration of your deferment.

Once your completed and certified cancellation form(s) is returned to our office, it will be reviewed for final approval.

Once approved and your outstanding balance has been reduced through cancellation, you will receive a notification letter and a new cancellation form(s) from our office. Your loan(s) will be automatically deferred for the following year, pending the completion and submission of the new cancellation form(s).

Termination of Employment

If your employment is terminated for any reason, you will receive a grace period of six months from the date of termination. Payments are not required and interest will not accrue during the grace period. Upon termination, please contact our office immediately for further information.

Other Options

If your loan is not eligible for a Teacher of Special Education cancellation and you are unable to meet your scheduled payments, you may apply for an economic hardship deferment or forbearance.

Full-Time Librarian Cancellation

Payments on Federal Perkins student loans may be cancelled for specified professional services. If your loan is eligible for cancellation, the account will be placed in deferment status and you will not receive a loan billing statement during that period of time.

After completion of one full year of service as a full-time librarian, a portion of your loan will be cancelled. To determine the percentage of cancellation for each year of service, please refer to the cancellation rate chart.

Eligibility

You must be a full-time librarian on or after August 14, 2008. The librarian must have a master's degree. A librarian with a master's degree is defined as an information professional trained in library or information science who has obtained a postgraduate academic degree in library science awarded after the completion of an academic program of up to six years in duration (excluding a doctorate or professional degree).

The librarian must be employed:

  • in an elementary school or secondary school that is eligible for Title I assistance (see sidebar), or
  • by a public library that serves a local school district that contains one or more Title 1-eligible schools.

Additionally, your loan must be paid to the start of your cancellation period.

Application Process

There are two ways to apply:

  1. Submit an application
Penn State 
Student Financial Services
108 Shields Building
664 Curtin Road
University Park, PA 16802

Fax: 814-865-6535
  1. Contact our office by letter or via the Web with the following information:
    • full name, address, and phone number of your current employer
    • date you were hired full-time
    • detailed description of your duties

When your documentation is received, our office will send you a notification of eligibility. If you are eligible, you will be notified of your deferment coverage and a cancellation form(s) will be enclosed. Please submit your cancellation form(s) approximately one month prior to the expiration of your deferment.

Once your completed and certified cancellation form(s) is returned to our office, it will be reviewed for final approval.

Once approved and your outstanding balance has been reduced through cancellation, you will receive a notification letter and a new cancellation form(s) from our office. Your loan(s) will be automatically deferred for the following year, pending the completion and submission of the new cancellation form(s).

Termination of Employment

If your employment is terminated for any reason, you will receive a grace period of six months from the date of termination. Payments are not required and interest will not accrue during the grace period. Upon termination, please contact our office immediately for further information.

Other Options

If your loan is not eligible for a Full-Time Librarian cancellation and you are unable to meet your scheduled payments, you may apply for an economic hardship deferment or forbearance.