OPINION

To better support students, Congress must double Pell

Dr. Timothy Mottet

The American education system is unparalleled in quality, but it is also increasingly out of reach for lower- and moderate-income students. For nearly 50 years the federal Pell Grant program has helped millions of these students access higher education by helping to cover tuition, room and board, and other school-related expenses. Yet despite wide bipartisan support for the Pell Grant program, Congress has made no meaningful investment in the program in more than a decade.

Pell Grants provide students with a quick method of support to enroll in and graduate from college. Congress can ease the financial burden for more students and help more people access higher education by doubling the maximum Pell Grant award to $13,000. Such an increase in the maximum grant award would fully cover the average tuition cost for community college students in all 50 states and for most students attending public four-year institutions, such as my own, Colorado State University Pueblo. Doubling the Pell Grant would increase the pool of students eligible for the aid, providing more opportunity to attend college. It also would, on average, cut student debt by more than half, according to research by the Gender Equity Policy Institute.

In 2020-21, 6.9 million students benefited from Pell Grants, including nearly 118,000 students right here in Colorado. About 40% of students who are veterans are Pell-eligible, as are 60% of Black students and about 50% of American Indian and Hispanic students, making the grants an important tool for boosting equity in the U.S. But the current funding level for the grants is not enough to fully support students. With the college affordability crisis well underway, and the end of federal COVID relief looming, students need more help to ensure they can complete their college degrees.

Today’s Pell Grants do not go as far as they did when the program was enacted. Around the time of the program’s inception in the 1970s, the maximum Pell award covered nearly three-quarters of the average cost of tuition, fees and living expenses for a four-year public university. Today, it only covers about 30% of those same expenses. We have work to do to close this gap and solidify the power of these grants to pay for education expenses. Congress can take an important step toward doing so by tying Pell Grants to inflation rates.

Helping students attend institutions of higher education is imperative both for their individual successes and our collective success as a country. Access to higher education is a proven accelerant for our economy: According to the Census Bureau, workers with a bachelor’s degree have median lifetime earnings of $1 million more than their counterparts with a high school diploma. These are earnings that they use to pay taxes, buy goods, and support their families, all actions that grow our national economy. Students of all backgrounds deserve the opportunity to reach this higher earning potential.

All Americans benefit from an educated workforce, yet unfortunately, college enrollment has been in sharp decline since the pandemic began, particularly at community colleges. With a shortage of trained workers in critical fields such as nursing and teaching, we cannot afford to sit on the sidelines and simp wish for reversals in these enrollment trends. Doubling Pell will help lower- and moderate-income students gain the degrees necessary to climb the economic ladder and keep America’s economy running.

Doubling the maximum Pell award and indexing the grants to the inflation rate is our best, most efficient option for supporting students’ needs long-term. I urge Colorado’s congressional delegation to push for these bold and lasting improvements to the Pell Grant program — we owe it to our students, who are our country’s future.

Timothy Mottet

Dr. Timothy Mottet is president of Colorado State University Pueblo.