As the Biden-Harris administration seeks to hasten the country's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, reforming the U.S. higher education system to ensure equitable access and attainment for all adults is more important than ever. Most student parents are mothers, students of color, adult and working learners, students with low incomes, and…

The Federal Pell Grant program, authorized by Title IV-A-1 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, (HEA; P.L. 89-329), as amended, is the single largest source of federal grant aid supporting undergraduate students. The program provided approximately $29 billion in aid to approximately 7.2 million undergraduate students in FY2017. Pell Grants are…

Nearly four million U.S. undergraduate college students are parents or guardians of children under the age of 18. These student parents, who already faced immense financial, child care, food, and housing insecurity before the COVID-19 pandemic, are now dealing with multiple new barriers, including school closures, lay-offs, and child care…

The COVID-19 health crisis has laid bare the structural inequity in the financial aid system. The pandemic has hit the lowest-income students hardest, with many struggling to afford the basic technology for online learning on top of new or exacerbated food and housing insecurity. Federal and state dollars predicated on Pell Grant eligibility, time…

The "2018-19 Counselors and Mentors Handbook on Federal Student Aid" provides useful information to help high school counselors, TRIO and Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) staff, and other mentors advise students about financial aid for postsecondary education. This book focuses on the federal…

The 2017-18 "Counselors and Mentors Handbook on Federal Student Aid" provides useful information to help high school counselors, TRIO and Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) staff, and other mentors advise students about financial aid for postsecondary education. This book focuses on the federal…

Students and families all over the country are saving, working, taking out loans, and taking steps to make college affordable. Yet they still find themselves facing an unreasonably high price for college, with unexpected, and sometimes untenable, expenses, and fall short of the resources they need to successfully complete degrees. Financial…

This report shares the perspectives and aspirations of 17 low-income and working-class students based on interviews the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) conducted over two semesters of their college journeys. The report identifies opportunities for policymakers and institutional leaders to support all students through completion,…

This publication is intended for college financial aid administrators and counselors who help students begin the aid process--filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®), verifying information, and making corrections and other changes to the information reported on the FAFSA. In addition to the active index, the following topics…

This publication is intended for financial aid administrators and counselors who help students begin the aid process--filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®), verifying information, and making corrections and other changes to the information reported on the FAFSA. The Federal Student Aid Handbook consists of the Application…

Student parents face many challenges to accessing, persisting, and completing postsecondary education. While some of these challenges are unique to student parents--such as finding quality child care during class and work hours and juggling studying and academic assignments with parenting duties--others are typical of low-income and underserved…

Using data from the 1995-96, 1999-2000, 2003-04, and 2007-08 administrations of the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, these tables focus on trends in the receipt of federal Pell Grants and among Pell Grant recipients. Data include the percentages of Pell Grant recipients and the average Pell Grant received each survey year. Also shown are…

A background of the Pell Grant program (the largest in terms of appropriations of the federal student financial aid programs authorized by Title IV of the Higher Education Act as amended) is presented. Four sections are as follows: background and issues (introduction, Pell Grant program description, eligibility for Pell Grants, and profile of Pell…

Hearings on the proposed federal fiscal 1984 budget are presented that focus on proposals for federal student financial assistance. One of the major recommendations of the Reagan administration's budget is to eliminate funding for the Pell Grant, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, and State Student Incentive Grant programs and to create…

The United States is losing high-paying jobs to countries that produce a more reliable supply of college graduates in math and science. Texas faces its own economic slowdown if it is unable to graduate more students with bachelor's degrees. The state has been addressing many of the obstacles students face in earning a four-year degree. Outreach…