Doubling Down on Doubling the Pell Grant
As the nation rebuilds from the economic downturn brought on by COVID-19, current and incoming students will require additional financial support to help pay for college. One clear option is to double down on the one mechanism we already have in federal law designed to target funding to low-income students by doubling the maximum Pell Grant award available to students. Pell Grants are the foundation of our national investment in higher education, and they help pave the way for nearly 7 million low- and middle-income students to attend and complete college. However, the current maximum Pell Grant covers less than one-third of the cost of attending a four-year college. To boost the grant’s purchasing power and help make college an option for more students who are currently in crisis, Congress should invest in and protect the Pell Grant program.
Why THE PELL GRANT MATTERS
The Pell Grant program is the foundation of college aid for over 7 million students annually, including nearly 60 percent of Black students and nearly half of Hispanic students.
New America Report: Restoring the Promise of Higher Education
New America Report: Equipping Individuals for Life Beyond Bars
CAP Report: Mounting Peril for Public Higher Education During the Coronavirus Pandemic
IHEP Report: Defend Students, Don't Raid Pell Grant Funding!
Lumina Report: Pell Grant Mission Creep
Ed Trust Report: Investing in Pell is Investing in the American Dream
UNCF Report: HBCUs Testify Before Congress
UNCF Report: President of Lane College a Witness in Senate HELP Committee Hearing
Third Way Report: Why We Should Double the Pell Grant
Third Way Video: The Case for Doubling the Pell Grant
HOW PELL MAKES COLLEGE AFFORDABLE
Unlike student loans, Pell Grants do not have to be repaid, eliminating or significantly reducing college debt.
Excelencia Report: How can policy help Latinos afford a degree?
NCAN Report: The Growing Gap Tableau Dashboard
NCAN Policy Proposal: Restore the purchasing power of the Pell Grant
TICAS Report: Redefining Full-Time Pell Grants Reduces College Access
TICAS Report: An Arbitrary Maximum Income Cap Would Eliminate Pell Grants for Needy Students
TICAS Report: Pell Grants Help Keep College Affordable for Millions of Americans
Third Way Report: Sharing the Risk for Students' and Taxpayers' Pell Grant Investment
New America Report: Americans Are Split on College Costs and Who Should Pay
CAP Report: Affordability Principles for Reauthorizing the Higher Education Act
CAP Report: Trump’s Latest Budget Proposal Would Deepen the Student Debt Crisis
HLA Report: 3 Ways Federal Policy Solutions Can Level the Playing Field in Higher Education and the Economy
YI Report: Changing the Expected Family Contribution Formula to Serve Today’s Students
Excelencia in Education Report: We need to expand the college affordability conversation
Lumina Report: Impact of Pell Grant Eligibility On Financial Aid Packages, Labor Supply and Academic Outcomes
Lumina Report: Pell Grants cover a dwindling share of college costs as students borrow more
NCAN Report: College Affordability Gap Grows for Students from Low-Income Backgrounds
WHO BENEFITS FROM PELL GRANTS?
Most Pell Grant dollars go to students and families that make under $40,000 a year, a group currently facing a disproportionately high unemployment rate.
New America Report: How Would a 5-Year Restriction on Pell Eligibility Impact Incarcerated Adults if the Pell Ban is Lifted?
CAP Report: New Insights Into Attainment for Low-Income Students
YI Report: Graduates of Pell
Excelencia in Education Report: Latinos in Higher Education & Pell Grants
Ed Trust Report: The ‘Black Tax’ Is Key to Understanding and Solving the Black Student Debt Crisis in the Time of COVID-19 and Beyond
Third Way Report: The Pell Divide: How Four-Year Institutions are Failing to Graduate Low- and Moderate-Income Students
UNCF Report: UNCF Delivers State of the HBCU Address as Part of 75th Celebration
Unidos U.S. Report: A Path Forward for Latinos: Laying the Groundwork for Equity in Higher Education
STUDENT VOICE: Doubling the Pell Grant will make college a reality for more students like me
How to strengthen pell
Congress must immediately act to double the maximum Pell Grant award and set the Pell Grant to automatically adjust for inflation each year.
Ed Trust Report: Ed Trust Welcomes Comprehensive Higher Education Proposal from House Democrats
New America Medium Post: How We Can Double the Pell Grant
TICAS Report: How to Secure and Strengthen Pell Grants to Increase College Access and Success
TICAS Report: Pell Grants for Short-Term Programs The Rationale and the Risks
TICAS Report: Safeguards Are Needed for Any Extension of Pell Grants to Short-Term Programs
TICAS Report: WHY IT’S TIME TO #DoublePell
Third Way Q&A: Expanding Pell Grants to Shorter-Term Programs
Third Way Report: Preserve the Reserve: Why the Pell ‘Surplus’ Isn’t Expendable
Third Way Report: Protecting Federal Dollars Flowing to New Short-Term Programs of Higher Education
University of California: Double Pell Website
How Doubling the Pell Grant Could Be a Down Payment on Free College
In THE NEWS
6-17-21 Democrats Propose to Double Pell Grant Over Five Years
5-19-21 Report: Doubling the Pell Grant Could Serve as Precursor to Free College
2-16-21 The economic case for doubling the Pell Grant
1-30-21 The quickest and most effective way Biden can help millions of Americans go to college
11-20-20 Will Biden be able to double the Pell Grant?
10-15-20 New Students at U.S. Colleges Drop, Worsening Campus Crisis
8-4-20 OPINION: The dire need for significant federal investment in U.S. colleges and their students
7-21-20 A New Call to Increase Pell
7-14-20 Doubling the Pell Grant is crucial for the future of our students and the economy
6-17-20 Congress Needs to Prevent A Flight from College
5-21-20 John B. King Jr. Testimony On FY 2021 Funding Before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies
5-18-20 TICAS Joint Pell Letter
5-1-20 Amid COVID-19, Doubling Pell Grants is the Next Urgent Need for HBCUs, Says UNCF
7-8-19 Brewing Battle Over Pell Grants
EVENTS CALENDAR
This is a running list of events on or about doubling the Pell Grant. If you'd like your event added to the calendar, please fill out the events form.
Speak Directly with Experts Working to Make this Happen
Matt Owens
Association of American Universities (AAU)
matt.owens@aau.edu
Lindsey Tepe
Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU)
ltepe@aplu.org
Viviann Anguiano
Center for American Progress
vanguiano@americanprogress.org
Janette Martinez
Excelencia in Education
jmartinez@edexcelencia.org
Julie Peller
Higher Learning Advocates
jpeller@higherlearningadvocates.org
Mamie Voight
IHEP
mvoight@ihep.org
Wayne Taliaferro
Lumina
wtaliaferro@luminafoundation.org
Carrie Warick
National College Attainment Network
warickc@ncan.org
Reid Setzer
The Education Trust
rsetzer@edtrust.org
Michele Streeter
The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS)
mstreeter@ticas.org
Tamara Hiler
Third Way
thiler@thirdway.org
Lodriguez Murray
UNCF
Lodriguez.Murray@uncf.org
Kyle Southern
Young Invincibles
kyle.southern@younginvincibles.org