AmeriCorps Education Award
Full-time AmeriCorps members who complete a year of service earn a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award (Education Award) to pay for current educational expenses or to pay back qualified student loans. The Education Award is projected to be valued at $6,895 for the 2023–24 academic year, and individuals may earn Education Awards for up to two year-long service terms. Relay students may participate in the AmeriCorps program through the Relay Teaching Residency program, Teach For America, or another eligible AmeriCorps service program.
For students currently enrolled in an AmeriCorps program, tuition in the amount of the Education Award is payable during the year. If students do not earn their Education Award for any reason, or if they choose not to use these funds toward paying their tuition balance, they will be responsible for paying this balance out of pocket. If students take a leave of absence, withdraw, are administratively withdrawn, or are dismissed from the program before this balance has been paid through a pending award, it will be payable immediately, even if students have not earned or will not earn their Education Award. For more information on tuition balances from unearned awards, please see Pending Awards. For more information on extenuating circumstances, please see Extenuating Circumstances for AmeriCorps Recipients. For more information on AmeriCorps opt-out policies, please see AmeriCorps Opt-Out below.
Students who receive an Education Award also should be aware of the following:
- Students may use the award for any educational expenses allowed by the AmeriCorps program rules;
- The amount of the Education Award is dependent on congressional funding for the AmeriCorps program and is subject to change. Students are responsible for paying all tuition and fees that are intended to be covered by their Education Awards; and
- Students who do not receive their education award (due to withdrawal, administrative withdrawal, or program dismissal from Relay; withdrawal, administrative withdrawal, or program dismissal from their AmeriCorps program; or any other reason) will be responsible for covering all tuition. This includes tuition that would have been covered by an earned education award.
The Education Award is subject to federal and state tax when it is used; students should consult a tax advisor for more information.
More information about AmeriCorps is available at: http://www.americorps.gov
Teach For America (TFA) corps members may be granted TFA Education Awards at the end of each year of service in lieu of a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award. Relay is eligible to accept these awards for students expecting the TFA Education Awards. All terms and conditions related to tuition balances from unearned pending awards still apply.
AmeriCorps Enrollment and Relay Tuition
Students may be eligible to earn a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award (up to $6,895) upon completion of the 2023–24 school year. Students often choose to apply their earned Education Award to cover a portion of their Relay tuition. Failure to complete all required AmeriCorps enrollment steps and join the AmeriCorps program by the stated deadline if you’re eligible means that you will not earn a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award.
AmeriCorps Opt-out
Students may decide to opt out of AmeriCorps program membership. To initiate an opt out, students must submit the Relay AmeriCorps Application and select the “concern question.” All opt-out requests will be granted since students have full autonomy to decline AmeriCorps membership; said otherwise, all eligible students have the option to complete and enroll in AmeriCorps—membership is not mandatory for attendance at Relay.
Relay reserves the right to determine if an alternative Relay Residency Scholarship of up to $3,000 will be provided based on selection criteria. Relay cannot guarantee that you will receive alternative funding.
Once an opt-out request has been reviewed under Relay’s “opt out with funding” criteria, students will receive a funding decision email. Below are the possible decisions:
- Approved Relay Residency Scholarship: the opt-out request was granted and met Relay’s criteria for alternative funding of up to $3,000 provided by Relay.
- Denied Relay Residency Scholarship: the opt-out request was granted but the rationale provided did not meet Relay’s criteria for alternative funding of up to $3,000. Students can request to appeal the opt-out denied funding decision by contacting the AmeriCorps team at support@relay.edu.
Students receiving a scholarship through their employer may check with their employer regarding the scholarship amount or reach out to support@relay.edu for more information. Employers may reach out to the Partner Billing team at partnerbilling@relay.edu.
As an alternative, students declining the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award and/or Relay Residency Scholarship may choose to pay tuition directly out of pocket. Students can review their unpaid tuition balances on their Nelnet student accounts.
Outside Scholarships
Students may receive financial assistance from sources other than federal and institutional financial aid programs. Under federal law and school policy, Relay must consider outside resources when deciding what other aid or loans students may be eligible to receive. Outside awards may reduce students’ eligibility for federal and institutional financial aid.
Outside awards are incorporated into financial aid packages: first, they may be used to reduce students’ out-of-pocket responsibilities, and they may replace other institutional scholarships. Students whose financial aid packages are adjusted to account for outside awards in the middle of an academic year will receive email notifications and/or updated financial aid offers.