1. Eligible Applicants:(a) An eligible applicant must be--(1) An IHE, including a TCU;(2) A State educational agency in a consortium with an IHE or a TCU;(3) An LEA in a consortium with an IHE or a TCU;(4) An Indian Tribe or Indian organization in a consortium with an IHE or a TCU; or(5) A BIE-funded school in a consortium with at least one TCU, where feasible. BIE-funded schools are eligible applicants for a pre-service training program when the BIE-funded school applies in consortium with an institution of higher education that meets the requirements in paragraph(c) of this section. (b) Eligibility of an applicant that is an IHE or a TCU, or an applicant requiring a consortium with an IHE or a TCU, requires that the IHE or TCU be accredited to provide the coursework and level of degree or Native American language certificate required by the project.Post Award Requirements: (a) Requirement for payback meeting. Prior to providing funds or services to a participant, the grantee must conduct a payback meeting with the participant to explain the costs of training and payback responsibilities following training. (b) Requirement for payback agreement. (1) Prior to providing funds or services to a participant, and for each subsequent year that training funds are disbursed, the grantee must enter into a written agreement with each participant in which the participant agrees to the terms and conditions required by 34 CFR 263.12. (2) The payback agreement must explain the Secretary’s authority to grant deferrals and exceptions to the service obligation pursuant to § 263.10 and include--(i) The current Department address for purposes of the participant’s compliance with § 263.11, or any other purpose under this part, and other Office of Indian Education contact information;(ii) The estimated length of training; (iii) The total training costs; (iv) The total amount of assistance accrued year-to-date;(v) The total number of months in the service obligation year-to-date;(vi) A statement explaining that work must be in an “LEA that serves a high proportion of Indian students,” and the regulatory definition of that phrase; and(vii) Information documenting that the grantee held a payback meeting with the participant that meets the requirements of this section.(3) The grantee must submit a signed payback agreement to the Department within 30 days of the date on which the payback agreement is fully executed by the grantee and participant. The grantee must provide a copy of the payback agreement to the participant upon execution.(c) Exit certification. At the time of exit from the program, the grantee must provide the below information to the participant. Upon receipt of this information from the grantee, the participant must provide written certification to the grantee that this information is correct: (1) The name of the institution where the participant received pre-service training and the award number of the Federal grant that provided the scholarship.(2) The number of months the participant needs to work in an LEA that serves a high proportion of Indian students to satisfy the payback requirements in 263.9.(3) The total amount of financial assistance received.(4) The participant’s field of study and the obligation of the participant to perform the service obligation with employment that meets the requirements in § 263.9(b).(d) Career preparation. During the grant period, a grantee must conduct activities to assist participants in identifying qualified employment opportunities following completion of the program. (e) Information and annual reporting. The grantee must report to the Secretary all participant training and payback information in a manner specified by the Secretary as well as any other information that is necessary to carry out the Secretary’s functions under section 6122 of the ESEA and 34 CFR part 263. Each grantee will make annual reports to the