NASFAA President Dallas Martin advocated a larger maximum Pell Grant award Tuesday at a congressional policy forum on increasing college access. The forum, "A Shared Agenda for College Access and Success," brought together 11 organizations committed to helping students make the transition from secondary to postsecondary education. The groups highlighted the need for greater investment in federal postsecondary access programs. The Pathways to College Network and the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) convened the forum to provide information to members of Congress and their staffs about federal legislation to improve college access. The forum provided a concise reference for policymakers, legislative staff and others that outlined the major policy recommendations of the participating organizations.
Speaking at the forum, Martin highlighted the Pell Grant program as the largest and most need-focused federal student aid program, but the purchasing power of the maximum Pell Grant has been dwindling for years as college costs have increased and inflation has deflated the maximum grant's purchasing power. The most recent increase in the maximum took place in FY2003 when it went up $50 to the current $4,050. The Higher Education Act authorizes a maximum Pell Grant of $5,800, but Congress has not appropriated funding to meet the authorization level.
Sandy Baum, professor of economics at Skidmore College and policy analyst at College Board, supported Martin's assertions with statistics showing that too many academically qualified students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds do not enroll and therefore have no chance to succeed in higher education. Baum noted that student aid makes a difference, but need-based grant aid is not increasing at a fast enough to keep up with inflation and the cost of college. She also emphasized that money spent on student aid is a good investment because of the individual and societal benefits of higher education.
In order to improve low-income students' access to higher education, Martin highlighted NASFAA's recommendations to: (1) double the current maximum Pell Grant award; (2) award anyone with a negative Expected Family Contribution up to $750 in additional Pell Grant funding; (3) eliminate "tuition sensitivity" provisions that reduce a Pell Grant recipient's award if they attend a college with a lower attendance cost; (4) increase the FSEOG funding authorization level to $1.2 billion; (5) continue and increase LEAP funding to maintain certain state need-based grant programs; and (6) increase funding for all federal programs that provide early outreach and student services to increase access to college.
John Dean, president of the National College Access Network board, used the findings of several reports to demonstrate that students from certain socioeconomic backgrounds did not receive effective information about college financial aid. He advocated providing more counseling, mentoring and information to students through programs such as NASFAA's Early Awareness Program, College Goal Sunday, and others that heighten awareness about college opportunity, student aid, academic preparation, scholarships, and debt management. Dean outlined NCAN's recommendations to improve college access by: (1) developing an initiative to align elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education; (2) increasing accountability at all levels of education; (3) providing more students with counselors and mentors; and (4) supporting organizations that help students access federal student aid.
NCAN's recommendations emphasized one of the forum's goals: to explore ways that federal legislation can increase the connection between K-12 and postsecondary education and strengthen state and federal collaboration to increase college access and success.
By Haley Chitty
NASFAA Assistant Director for Communications
Posted March 1, 2006 on www.NASFAA.org, the Web Site of the
National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA).
Copyright 2006. Redistribution to non-NASFAA institutions is prohibited
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