"A $13,000 Pell Grant would just about fully cover today’s average annual cost of attendance for community-college students. Students at public four-year institutions would have more than half of their tuition, fees, room, and board paid for," The Chronicle of Higher Education reports.

..."Shoring up the Pell program is one of the most effective ways to fight inequity in higher education, affordability advocates say, because it’s targeted at students who most need help.

According to the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, increasing Pell is closely connected to racial and social justice. In the 2015-16 academic year, 58 percent of Black undergraduates and 47 percent of Hispanic undergraduates received a federal Pell Grant, compared with 32 percent of white undergraduates. Just over 80 percent of Pell recipients in 2017-18 had an annual family income of less than $40,000.

'When we’re talking about how to make sure that we’re distributing financial aid equitably, Pell is really the best way to do that,' said Rachel Gentry, the association’s director of government relations. 'It’s also not like we have to get a new program up and off the ground. The Pell Grant program already exists, and it’s already targeting aid to the lowest-income students.'"

NASFAA's "Notable Headlines" section highlights media coverage of financial aid to help members stay up to date with the latest news. Articles included under the notable headlines section are not written by NASFAA, but rather by external sources. Inclusion in Today's News does not imply endorsement of the material or guarantee the accuracy of information presented.

Publication Date: 4/13/2022