Description:
The Pell Grant Program is of paramount importance to community college students, currently providing an annual maximum grant of $5,550; and it has long been synonymous with community college access. The program has expanded dramatically in recent years and now benefits approximately 3.5 million community college students each year. This funding exceeds $11 billion, out of total expenditures of $35 billion. However, the program is under threat, due its burgeoning cost as well as reports that it has become subject to abuse by students who are enrolling in college solely to obtain the grants. This spotlight session will focus on the tremendous benefits that the Pell Gant program is providing to community college students. Presenters will also look at the sources of the program’s longtime political support. Panelists will also discuss the mushrooming costs of the program and its future funding prospects, given the current focus on reducing the federal deficit. The discussion will examine some of the highly negative program cuts that were made in the last year, and well as further proposals that have been advanced to reduce expenditures. In addition, the politically sensitive reports of program abuse will be treated, looking at “Pell runners” and “fraud rings.” Community college students have been highly associated with these abuses. The panel will also provide examples of successful institutional approaches that have been employed to help curb these abuses. Attendees will be encouraged to share their own efforts in this area. Community colleges have an abiding interest in ensuring that the Pell Grant program remains vital, and this session will help attendees explore and response to the challenges to that vitality.