What’s in store for the government-funded Pell Grant, as Congress deals with an escalating debt crisis? The Chronicle of Higher Education has posted six different views from education policy experts across the political spectrum.
David Evans, a former staff director to the late Sen. Pell (who devised the Pell Grant), says that the Pell Grant has been an important aid for students during economic downturns, and that cuts to the grant would be “penny wise but pound foolish”. He calls instead for a reexamination of current requirements, such as degree completion, and to cut back on the use of Pell Grants by students attending for-profit schools.
Meanwhile, Frederick Hess, scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, believes the Pell Grant should be re-imagined for a new era and a new type of student. He calls for four major changes to the program that would encourage quicker completion of degrees, more customization of course offerings, and lower costs.
Other experts who discussed the future of the Pell Grant included Sandy Baum, an independent higher-education-policy analyst and professor emerita of economics at Skidmore College, Michael McPherson, president of the Spencer Foundation, former University of Phoenix president Jorge Klor de Alva, University of Pennsylvania registrar Michelle H. Brown-Nevers, and Michelle Asha Cooper, president of the Institute for Higher Education Policy.
