Short-Term Pell 101

Congress is making moves to pass legislation that would open up the federal Pell Grant program—which helps low- and middle-income students pursue a college education—to very short job training programs. Eligible students can already use their Pell Grant dollars to finance training programs as short as 15 weeks, or roughly one academic semester. Opening the door to unproven programs half that length poses big risks for educational quality, equity, and the sustainability of Pell funding.There’s a lot we simply don’t know about programs that are only 8 weeks in length—but we do know that graduates of short-term certificate programs often earn poverty-level wages or are unemployed. Data show that two-thirds of certificate program graduates earn, on average, no more than the typical high school graduate. And since short-term programs disproportionately recruit and enroll low-income students, part-time students, and students of color, an influx of even shorter, low-quality credentials could lead more students of color to enter predatory programs that leave them struggling to make ends meet and with few career advancement opportunities. Extending Pell to extremely short-term programs without meaningful guardrails could even strain the Pell Grant budget to its limit and impact the availability of future funding for all eligible students.We know that students enroll in short-term programs seeking access to high-quality training that will equip them with the skills needed to attain middle-class jobs. To serve them well, any new funding for workforce development and higher education programs should be thoughtful and sustainable, and make equity—particularly racial equity—a top priority. Policymakers must act now to ensure that strong quality guardrails are included in any final short-term Pell legislation to safeguard taxpayers’ investment in Pell Grants against low-value programs that leave students with limited job prospects and exacerbate existing inequities.

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