Pell Grants

Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008

hmoroz — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 15:56:11 -0400

Legislation

The middle class

Supports

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Percentage of dependent Pell Grant recipients whose family income is less than $20,000: 40

Percentage of tuition and fees (including room and board) at public four-year colleges that was covered by the maximum Pell Grant in the 1986-1987 school year: 52

Percentage of tuition and fees (including room and board) at public four-year colleges that was covered by the maximum Pell Grant in the 2006-2007 school year: 32

Amount that the average college student pays for textbooks each year: $900

Average number of hours that the Brookings Institution estimates an applicant needs to complete the FAFSA: 10

Number of hours a year spent filling out financial aid forms: 100 million

Equivalent in full-time jobs: 55,000

Number of students who have not received financial aid due to drug convictions since the provision went into effect in 2000: 200,000

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Middle Class Supports. Although a college education is increasingly a prerequisite for a middle-class standard of living, current and aspiring middle-class students and their families are struggling more than ever to afford college. Indeed, in recent years the maximum Pell Grant, designed to provide financially strapped students with an opportunity to attend college, has failed to keep pace with rising higher education costs. 2007’s College Cost Reduction and Access Act, which increased the maximum Pell Grant and limited federal subsidies to student lenders in order to increase college financial aid by $20 billion, was a necessary first step in making college more affordable. The Higher Education Opportunity Act’s additional increase of the maximum Pell grant will make college accessible to more aspiring middle-class Americans. Additionally, the expansion of the Pell Grant program to include year-round education supports the hardest-working students struggling to complete their educations quickly. Continued commitment to the TRIO and GEAR UP programs is critical to ensuring that first generation and at-risk students are able to obtain a college education and achieve a middle-class standard of living.

Skyrocketing tuition costs and large and confusing debt obligations can make college unaffordable and financial stability after college difficult. Indeed, the College Board reports that average tuition and fees at four-year public institutions have increased 51% over the last five years and that private undergraduate loans have grown from 3% to 12% of the funds used to finance postsecondary education since the 1996-1997 school year . The Higher Education Opportunity Act improves a student loan system that has been characterized by favoritism and murky lending practices. The Act will help put an end to the most egregious conflicts of interest and will expand and simplify the information that is available to students and their families when deciding what colleges to attend and what loans to take out. Ending such conflicts of interest will ensure that students receive the most affordable loans, not loans that are the favorites of an unethical financial aid officer. A simplified application form for federal student aid will ensure that students are not dissuaded from seeking financial assistance for higher education because of complex paperwork. Stricter reporting requirements for institutions that that fail to rein in tuition hikes are a positive step in influencing institutions of higher education to make college more affordable. Efforts to reduce the cost of textbooks will also be helpful to students struggling with high costs.

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

Higher Education Project, from U.S. Public Interest Research Group

Window of Opportunity: Targeting Federal Grant Aid to Students with the Lowest Incomes, from the Institute for Higher Education Policy

Trends in College Pricing 2007, from the College Board

College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2008

hmoroz — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 14:23:44 -0500

Legislation

The middle class

Supports

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Ratio of students at four-year colleges and universities with student loan debt by the time they graduated in 2004: 2/3

Percentage increase in the average student loan debt for graduating seniors from 2005 to 2006: 8

Percentage increase in starting salary offers for graduating seniors from 2005 to 2006: 4

Percentage of tuition and fees (including room and board) at public four-year colleges that was covered by the maximum Pell Grant in the 1986-1987 school year: 52

Percentage of tuition and fees (including room and board) at public four-year colleges that was covered by the maximum Pell Grant in the 2006-2007 school year: 32

Amount that the average college student pays for textbooks each year: $900

Number of students who have not received financial aid due to drug convictions since the provision went into effect in 2000: 200,000

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Middle Class Supports. Although a college education is increasingly a prerequisite for a middle-class standard of living, aspiring middle-class and middle-class students are struggling more than ever to afford college. Indeed, in recent years the maximum Pell Grant, designed to provide financially strapped students with an opportunity to attend college, has failed to keep pace with rising higher education costs. 2007’s College Cost Reduction and Access Act, which increased the maximum Pell Grant and limited federal subsidies to student lenders in order to increase college financial aid by $20 billion, was a necessary first step in making college more affordable. The College Opportunity and Affordability Act’s additional increase of the maximum Pell grant will make college accessible to more aspiring middle-class Americans. Additionally, the expansion of the Pell Grant program to include year-round education supports the hardest-working students struggling to complete their educations quickly. Continued commitment to the TRIO and GEAR UP programs is critical to ensuring that first generation and at-risk students are able to obtain a college education and achieve a middle-class standard of living.

Furthermore, skyrocketing tuition costs and large and confusing debt obligations can make college impractical and financial stability after college difficult. Indeed, the College Board reports that average tuition and fees at four-year public institutions have increased 51% over the last five years and that private undergraduate loans have grown from 3% to 12% of the funds used to finance postsecondary education since the 1996-1997 school year . The College Opportunity and Affordability Act improves a private student loan system that has been characterized by favoritism and murky lending practices. The Act will not only put an end to the most egregious conflicts of interest, but will expand and simplify the information that is available to students and their families when deciding what loans are best. Ending such practices will ensure that students receive the most affordable loans, not loans that are the favorites of an unethical financial aid officer. A simplified application form for federal student aid will ensure that students are not dissuaded from seeking financial assistance for higher education because of complex paperwork. Publication of the tuitions of institutions that fail to rein in tuition hikes and the threatened reduction of federal aid if tuition increases are not contained are effective means to influence institutions of higher education to make college more affordable. Efforts to reduce the cost of textbooks will also be helpful to students struggling with high costs.

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

Trends in College Pricing 2007, from the College Board

Paying Back, Not Giving Back: Student Debt’s Negative Impact on Public Service Career Opportunities, from U.S. PIRG

Student Debt and the Class of 2006, from The Project on Student Debt

College Cost Reduction Act of 2007

atraub — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 17:58:22 -0400

Legislation

The middle class

Supports

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Total amount the average four-year college student with a subsidized Stafford loan would save under this bill if they start school in 2011, when the cut is fully phased in: $4,420

Percentage of college graduates under age 35 that are paying off college debt who say their loans will take them more than ten years to pay off: 39

Percentage of them who say they have delayed a medical or dental procedure because of their debts: 27

Proportion who say their college loan debts have caused them to delay getting married: 1 in 6

Price that private investors paid in 2007 to purchase Sallie Mae, the student loan company which began as an enterprise run by the government for the benefit of college students: $25 billion

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

The Middle Class Supports. In today’s world, a college education is necessary to attain a middle-class standard of living. A college-educated workforce is also critical to the nation’s economic strength. Yet the cost of college, and the amount of debt students must take on to afford it, is rising rapidly. The value of federal student aid programs, such as Pell Grants, has failed to keep pace with rising college costs, while many states have reduced their support for public universities. As a result, nearly two thirds of students at four-year colleges must now borrow to finance their college education, and the typical student borrower now graduates with nearly $20,000 in debt – and some with much more. The prospect of taking on tens of thousands of dollars in debt deters some students, especially those from lower-income families, from pursuing college entirely. Meanwhile, the need to pay off costly student loans makes it impractical for many graduates to pursue public service careers in essential fields such as teaching or social work. For many young people, the burden of student loan debt makes it difficult to make ends meet on a daily basis, much less support a family or begin to save for retirement. Through its wide array of measures to make a college education more affordable – including the groundbreaking effort to encourage colleges not to raise tuition, while prodding states to strengthen their investment in higher education – this bill will help millions of American young people attend college and begin their working lives without such an overwhelming burden of debt.

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

The Project on Student Debt, a project of the Institute for College Access and Success

Student Debt Alert, a project of the Student Public Interest Research Groups

“Higher and Higher Education: Trends in College Access, Affordability, and Debt,” from Demos

Pell Grant Amendment of 2004

atraub — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 15:41:25 -0400

Legislation

The middle class

Supports

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Proportion of American college students who receive Pell Grants: 3 in 10
Percentage of public four-year college costs covered by the maximum Pell Grant in 1976: 84
Percentage of public four-year college costs covered by the maximum Pell Grant today: 39
Amount by which the Pell grant was last increased three years ago: $50
Number of Americans who are worried about the cost of college: 3 out of 4
Percentage of Americans who would be willing to pay higher taxes to increase financial support for college students: 66

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

The Middle Class Supports. A college education is an integral part of the American Dream. On average, college graduates earn 73 percent more over the course of their working lives than those with only a high school diploma. These benefits go far beyond the individual: the median college graduate contributes 44% more in annual tax revenues than the median high school graduate.

Pell Grants are the most widely-used federal college assistance program, serving 4.8 million Americans. Historically, Pell Grants provided an opportunity for students from low-income families to join the middle class, with the nation as a whole reaping the benefits of the higher tax payments, lower reliance on the publicly-funded safety net, lower incarceration rates, and increased civic participation of college graduates. Yet the maximum Pell Grant was last increased three years ago, and then it only went up by $50. In 2004, the average tuition and fees at a public four-year college was $5,132—an increase of 10.5 percent over the previous year. To pay for these increased costs, college students and their parents too often resort to taking on unsustainable amounts of debt.

Pell Grants

Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008

Legislation

The middle class

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

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Legislation

The middle class

Video Summary

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College Cost Reduction Act of 2007

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The middle class

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Overview/Summary

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The middle class

Video Summary

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