Kristin Hultquist Featured in The Chronicle of Higher Education Article

As the Workforce Pell Grant program will soon take effect, our CEO Kristin Hultquist is featured in The Chronicle of Higher Education, examining its emerging opportunities and implementation challenges.

While Pell Grants have traditionally been geared toward learners pursuing traditional degrees, Workforce Pell Grants expand eligibility to programs under 15 weeks. This change recognizes that learning does not just begin when someone is degree-seeking, but the strict requirements for programs to qualify for Workforce Pell Grants raise questions about feasibility, accountability, and access.

To qualify, programs must serve high-demand industries, be stackable toward further credentials, achieve 70%+ completion and job-placement rates, pass an earnings test, and receive governor approval. However, many noncredit programs are not structured to meet these requirements, and for-credit programs cannot move quickly enough through approval processes to adjust accordingly.

As for now, experts advise colleges not to worry about being ready on day one. Institutions can help drive progress by engaging their governor’s offices and workforce development boards, putting existing programs on their state’s radar, weighing in on observed regional labor trends, and discussing how they track metrics to determine what data is usable.


➡️ Read the article here.