What’s the future of Pell Grants? The Chronicle of Higher Education features six views on the increasingly costly program. Several commentators call for rewarding students who move quickly to a degree.
Pell should be updated to stress cost effectiveness, writes Rick Hess, education policy director at the American Enterprise Institute,
How about transforming Pell into something more like a federally funded education savings account that recognizes the mix-and-match opportunities and lifetime learning dynamic of the 21st century? Students could take courses—online or otherwise—from more than one institution at a time. . . .
Shorten the eligibility window; reward students who finish their degree or credential in an expedited fashion, as well as institutions whose students finish on time and find employment; and permit students to retain half of any unspent Pell dollars in a dedicated account for future education.
Jorge Klor de Alva, president of Nexus Research and Policy Center and former president of the University of Phoenix, also wants incentives to encourage more students to complete a certificate or degree. His idea: Give students loans that will convert to grants as they reach academic milestones, such as earning a minimum number of credits. Students who complete a certificate or degree would owe nothing.
To motivate colleges, “an institution would receive a bonus for each Pell recipient who completes a certificate or degree — a bonus that would have to be spent on improvements to the institution’s retention program.”
Also in the Chronicle, $44 billion should buy some accountability, writes Ed Sector’s Kevin Carey.
