Pell Grants are key to Missouri’s higher education — but funding is stuck in the past

Since its start in 1972, the federal Pell Grant program has been critical to the success of America’s education system. The program helps our most financially vulnerable students cover the costs of attending college, such as tuition and fees, providing them an opportunity they might not otherwise be able to afford. In an era of rampant partisanship, Pell is a rare example of a program that enjoys strong bipartisan support.

Yet the program has not seen a substantial increase in funding from Congress in more than a decade, and its power dwindles as inflation and college costs rise. We encourage our representatives in Congress to continue their support of the Pell Grant program by doubling the maximum Pell Grant and tying the program to the rate of inflation.

Pell Grants, which do not need to be repaid, give students the freedom to choose the direction their lives take. The grants help students attend college, should they so desire, and lift themselves out of poverty. More than 80% of Pell Grant recipients come from families earning less than $40,000 a year, and approximately 40% of students who are veterans are Pell-eligible. In 2019-2020 alone, this program served 6.9 million Americans, including 107,140 Missourians and nearly a third of our undergraduates at Northwest Missouri State University.

College degrees are powerful economic tools. Just look to Northwest’s numbers for proof: A full 96% of our undergraduates land a job or continue their education within six months of graduation. Armed with their degrees, our students are able to move up the ladder of economic opportunity. Research shows that those who earn a bachelor’s degree have median lifetime earnings of $1 million more than their peers with high school diplomas alone. But our students need support to reach that milestone.

Doubling Pell would increase the number of students eligible for these transformative funds, helping our students and boosting our economy. We all benefit from a more educated workforce, as well as from a citizenry that has more spending power. This increase in eligibility would also help solve a demographic crisis that Missouri’s institutions of higher education face, as the population of traditional college-aged people in the Midwest is expected to decline dramatically during the next decade.

When the Pell Grant program was founded, its grants covered more than three-fourths of the cost of attendance. Today, the grants only cover 30% of college costs. Doubling the maximum Pell Grant award would fully cover the average tuition cost for community college students as well as for most students attending public four-year institutions such as Northwest.

By doubling the maximum Pell award and tying the grants to the inflation rate, lawmakers can help ensure the students who desire a higher education have long-term access to one. Anything short of such an increase cannot meaningfully move the needle for students who walk away from higher education each year because they simply lack the means to pursue it.

The founding of the Pell Grant program marked a pivotal moment for higher education in America. As we approach the program’s 50th anniversary, it’s time to act boldly again and fuel the educational and economic prospects of our nation’s students. I urge Missourians to join me in advocating for our representatives in Congress to double Pell and solidify the strength of this powerful program.