Rising unemployment numbers and the current state of our economy have magnified the need for increased college access and affordability. Shortly after taking office, President Obama set a national goal of graduating the most students in the world from post secondary institutions by 2020 to address the growing need for a larger educated workforce in America.
This legislation would:
• Invest $40 billion to increase the maximum annual Pell Grant award to $5,550 in 2010 and to $6,900 by 2019. Since the 1970’s the Pell Grant program has helped low income students cover the cost of attending institutions of higher education. Starting in 2011, future increases to the Pell Grant will be linked to match rising costs-of-living
by indexing it to the Consumer Price Index plus 1 percent.
• Invest $3 billion to bolster college access and completion support programs for students. There is a severe college completion gap between high income and low income students. Among students with the highest test scores, 74 percent of high-income students get four-year degrees compared to only 29 percent of students from lower incomes. This achievement gap can be attributed to inadequate retention and completion support for low income students and communities traditionally underrepresented at institutions of higher education.
• Will work to improve degree attainment, especially among low income families, by increasing funding for the College Access Challenge Grant program. It will also fund innovative programs and partnerships between federal and state governments and institutions that focus on increasing financial literacy and help retain and graduate students.
• Infuse $10 billion in Community Colleges to support growing demand. Community Colleges educate the most students due to their low cost and easily accessible locations. However, community colleges have lacked the resources to get students the training they need to move into the work force. Increased funding under SAFRA is designed to modernize Community College facilities and design a new national online curriculum program.
• Create Community College Challenge Grants, managed by the Department of Education, which will help under-funded community colleges with limited capacity to build and leverage partnerships with schools and businesses to ensure that students are trained to fill jobs in their communities
