The Education Award

What Members Can Expect
Using Your Education Award
Qualified Educational Expenses
Financial Aid Concerns
Tax Obligations
My AmeriCorps Portal
Questions and Concerns

OKMM-EAP members who successfully complete a term of service are eligible for an AmeriCorps Education Award. The Education Award is a voucher worth $1,000, which you can use to pay qualified college expenses, such as tuition, room and board, and repayment of qualified student loans.

What Members Can Expect

After you complete your service term and submit all exit paperwork, OKMM-EAP staff will officially exit you from the program. The National Service Trust, which administers Education Awards, will be automatically notified that you were exited. You will receive your Education Award voucher [doc] and an information packet from the National Service Trust within 4 to 6 weeks of your exit date.

The voucher and information packet will be mailed to the address provided on your exit form. You must read the materials carefully; the packet contains instructions for the voucher, which is the document you will use to authorize a payment from your Education Award account.

Using Your Education Award

Members have seven years from the date of service term completion to use the Education Award. To redeem your Education Award, complete Section A of the voucher and do one of two things: mail the voucher directly to your student loan holder, or mail (or deliver) the voucher to your school’s bursar or business office. Remember to make copies of all documents for your personal records before submitting the originals to your lender or school.

Your lender or school officials will complete Section B of the voucher and mail it to the National Service Trust for payment. The National Service Trust will send a check to the lender or school in the amount you requested in Section A. Payments are made directly to the school or lender, not to you. Remember to plan ahead; it may take 6 to 8 weeks for the National Service Trust to send payment to your lender or school.

As an alternative to the traditional paper-based process, the CNCS implemented an online payment system that allows members to create, submit, and track Education Award Payment Requests to lenders and institutions through the AmeriCorps Web site. To access the system, members must register as a user and create an online account at the My AmeriCorps portal; a description of portal features and instructions are provided below. Whether members elect to use the traditional or online system, payments from the National Trust account will be made only from the Trust to the loan holder or institution - never to the member.

Qualified Educational Expenses

You can use an Education Award to:

repay qualified student loans. The most common qualified student loans are Stafford, Perkins, Federal Direct Loans, Supplemental Loans for Students, Federal Consolidated Loans, Health Education Assistance Loans, and loans made directly to members by a state agency. If you don’t know if your loan is “qualified,” contact your lender to find out.
pay for current education expenses at a qualified higher education institution. For purposes of the Education Award, a "qualified" institution is one that is authorized by the U.S. Department of Education to offer federal financial aid to students. These are sometimes called Title IV schools (officials at your institution can tell you if it’s a Title IV school). Current educational expenses are defined as costs you incur after you’ve started a service term with OKMM-EAP. You can use an Education Award for the “cost of attendance” as determined by your school, which for a full-time student might include tuition, fees, and allowances for books, room and board, transportation, a computer, and other expenses. You can use an Education Award for both undergraduate and graduate degree programs.
pay for expenses incurred while participating in an approved school-to-work program.

You can divide an Education Award to pay a combination of student loans and/or current education expenses. Once you’ve used all or a portion of an Education Award, the National Service Trust will send you a letter reporting the remaining balance. To ensure that you continue to receive updated Education Award account information, you must notify the National Service Trust of any change in your mailing address.

Financial Aid Considerations

Determining how the Education Award could affect your financial aid can be complicated. Financial aid officers at your school can help you determine the impact of the Education Award, if any, on your eligibility for financial aid.

Tax Obligations

Payments from Education Award accounts are counted as taxable income for the member in the tax year they are mailed from the National Service Trust to the school or lender. If you use all or a portion of an Education Award in a particular year, only the portion used will be subject to income taxes for that year. If no payment is made from your account during a year, there is no tax liability for the award in that year. Likewise, payments the National Service Trust makes for interest that accrued on qualified student loans during your term of service are taxable income in the tax year the payments are mailed from the National Service Trust to the lender.

The National Service Trust will report to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) the total of all payments made on your behalf. In January, you’ll receive an IRS form 1099 for any Education Award payments or interest accrual payments made on your behalf during the previous year. Members are obligated to include the amount listed on the 1099 as miscellaneous income on tax returns.

Although the Education Award is taxable, the amount of the award and the potential for loan forbearance and interest accrual payment are worth significantly more than the tax liability. Additionally, the tax liability may be reduced by federal income tax laws regarding educational credits and deductions for student loan interest payments. Contact the IRS (800.829.1040 or www.irs.gov) or a tax advisor for more information. The IRS TELETAX line (800.829.4477) offers recorded information about education credits (topic #605) and student loan interest deduction (topic #456).

My AmeriCorps Portal

As an OKMM-EAP member, you have access to My AmeriCorps, a tool that gives active members and alumni access to forms, services and the AmeriCorps Online Payment System. To access the system, you must first create a user account.

Creating a User Account

When creating your account, you’ll be ask to enter your legal last name, birth date, Social Security number (SSN) and a valid e-mail address. Next, create a user name and password. Your user name should be at least six characters and your password must contain at least one capital letter, one lowercase letter and one numeral.

If you experience problems creating your user account, contact the National Service Trust to verify your correct information is on file. You can reach the Trust by calling 888.507.5962 or 202.606.5000, ext. 347.

Active Members

While you’re an active member, your My AmeriCorps options are limited to updating profile information and completing loan forbearance requests on the AmeriCorps Online Payment System.

To update your profile information, click on My Information and select Edit Profile. Once your changes have been made, be sure to click Submit or your updated information will be lost.
To submit a loan forbearance request, choose Forbearance Request from the menu located on the left side of your screen. Review your contact information for accuracy and choose your dates of service from the drop down menu. Next, use the search feature to find your lender's listing. Choose the correct contact from the list provided, then click >Submit. If you have multiple lenders, repeat these steps for each lender.

If your lender isn’t registered with the AmeriCorps Online Payment System, you’ll be asked to enter contact information so the Trust can contact the lender.

Select Print Request at the bottom of your screen to print a copy of all requests for your personal records. Once your requests have been submitted, you can return to the My AmeriCorps home page and click on My Requests to review their status.

AmeriCorps Alumni

As an AmeriCorps alumnus, you can use My AmeriCorps to edit profile information, request an interest accrual payment through the AmeriCorps Online Payment System or manage your Education Award at any time.

To update your profile information, click on My Information and select Edit Profile. Once your changes have been made, be sure to click Submit or your updated information will be lost.
To submit an interest accrual request, choose Interest Accrual Benefit Request from the menu on the left side of your screen. Review your contact information for accuracy and choose your dates of service from the drop down menu. Next, use the search feature to find your lender's listing. Choose the correct contact from the list provided, authorize the release of your loan information to the National Service Trust and click Submit. If you have multiple lenders, repeat these steps for each lender.

If your lender isn’t registered with the AmeriCorps Online Payment System, you’ll be asked to enter contact information so the Trust can contact the lender.
To submit a payment request, choose Segal AmeriCorps Education Award Payment Request from the menu on the left side of your screen. Review your contact information for accuracy and choose your payment type (education expenses or loan payment). Enter the semester or term and the amount of your requested payment. Next, use the search feature to find your lender or school's listing. Choose the correct contact from the list provided. Next, you’ll be asked to certify three statements and submit your request. If you can’t answer "yes" to the three statements, you must contact the Trust at 888.507.5962 for further assistance.

If your school or lender isn’t registered with the AmeriCorps Online Payment System, you’ll be asked to enter contact information so the Trust can contact the school or lender.

Additional Information

AmeriCorps alumni who have not used their Education Award within six years of completing their service term have the option to apply for an award extension. This benefit is not automatic and is granted based on compelling circumstances.
To apply for this benefit, choose Award Extension Request from the menu on the left side of your screen. Review your contact information for accuracy then choose your dates of service from the drop down menu. Select Reason for Request from the drop down menu and attach any supporting documentation you may have. Enter any comments to further justify your extension request. Once you’re satisfied with your request, click Submit.

Questions and Concerns

If for some reason you don’t receive your Education Award voucher within 4 to 6 weeks after the exit date, or if you move in the interim and have to change the address where the award will be sent, you can email the National Service Trust at edawardvoucher@cns.gov or call the Trust helpline at 888-507-5962. Members can also call the Trust office at 202-606-5000, ext. 347 to check the status of an award and check voucher account balances online by registering at My AmeriCorps.

Although OKMM-EAP can provide general guidance for members, the program does not issue or track Education Awards. Vouchers are confidential; members with questions and concerns regarding the Education Award must communicate directly with the Trust.