The Obama Administration has announced several new and exciting proposals for higher education in the 2017 fiscal year. Our friends at the National College Access Network recently wrote a blog highlighting the propositions, including two new Pell proposals that could greatly improve students’ ability to afford college.
The Pell for Accelerated Completion proposal would allow full-time students to receive a Pell Grant to take coursework over the summer semester, while the On-Track Pell Bonus would provide additional Pell dollars to students taking fifteen credits per semester.
Both proposals intend to give students the financial boost they might need to graduate in a more timely fashion, and with less debt. According to the U.S. Department of Education, only 60% of students who enroll in a four-year degree program make it to graduation and one-third of students take longer than expected to graduate.
In addition to these new Pell proposals, the administration suggests increasing the Pell grant to $5,935 for 2017 and adjusting Pell funding for inflation in subsequent years.
President Obama’s budget proposal for the 2017 fiscal year includes plans to simplify the FAFSA application, improve how campus-based aid is awarded and more. Read about the budget proposal and how it would improve college affordability and access for students on the National College Access Network blog.