The US House of Representatives passed a provision earlier this month to increase Pell grants to college students by $250 per year. If approved by the Senate, the bill will raise the maximum grant to $4,000 to compensate for tuition cost inflation.
The annual increase in Pell grant funding has not kept pace with rising college tuition, according to Tufts Director of Financial Aid William Eastwood. "Pell grants have been around for about 20 years and they don't cover the same percentage of educational costs now that they covered when they came out," he said.
When Pell grants were established in 1975, they covered 84 percent of the cost of attending a public university. Previously, the maximum Pell grant awarded was $3,750. The grants typically go to students with the highest need, and eligibility is determined by family income.
But for high-cost private schools like Tufts, the Pell grant only covers a small portion of educational costs, leading students to look elsewhere for tuition money. An estimated 450 Tufts students - less than ten percent of the student body - receive Pell grants for a total of $1.1 million.
Representatives Ralph Ragula (R-OH) and David Obey (D-WI) proposed the increase in the maximum Pell grant. Criticizing President George W. Bush's proposal last spring to increase the grant by $100, the congressmen said Bush's plan would give only a token raise.
The federal government is attempting to raise Pell grants to cover the same percentage of tuition that they did two years ago.
The Pell grant primarily serves low-income students attending community colleges, according to Eastwood. "If a kid gets one of those, going to a community college, he might be able to pay his own tuition - that was the philosophy of the project to begin with," he said.
The Department of Education awards Pell grants to about four million undergraduates each year. The grants are capped for each student and the ceilings are raised almost every year. At Tufts, the average award ranges between $2,700 and $2,800. The Bush administration argued for a smaller increase, saying that as the economy slows, the Department of Education predictions say that more people will enroll in institutions of higher education, putting pressure on the Pell budget.
The $250 increase in maximum Pell grants proposed by Ragula and Obey will cost the government an estimated $700 million per year, a ten percent increase from the program's present cost.
The number of Pell grant recipients at Tufts has not varied in recent years. About 42 percent of undergraduates receive financial aid. Last year's average package was about $20,000. The packages typically increase by $1,000 each year.
