Short-Term Pell 101

Congress has passed legislation that opens 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 students 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 Pell must be thoughtful and sustainable, and include strong guardrails to safeguard taxpayers’ investment in Pell Grants against low-value programs that leave students worse off than if they had never attended.

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