Kristin Hultquist Discusses the Pell Grant Shortfall with Inside Higher Ed

Pell Grants help more than 30% of U.S. college students access higher education—but the program faces a projected $11.5B funding shortfall by 2027. On the most recent episode of The Key with Inside Higher Ed, our CEO Kristin Hultquist, unpacks the Pell Grant shortfall, examining how structural deficits led to this outcome, and what sustainable solutions are needed to ensure future funding for Pell grants and to serve the modern learner.

While changes to FAFSA have expanded access, the hybrid funding of Pell Grants has created a looming challenge with significant implications for the newest generation of learners. Previous remedies are no longer sufficient to meet the needs of the current workforce, and the current federal financial aid landscape is not equipped to serve the diverse needs of recipients.

New solutions must create long-term systems to secure financial commitments to Pell Grants and reexamine how the program can be structurally modernized. Decisions about the future of Pell Grants must not only balance sustainability with opportunity, but also center the working adults who are using Pell Grants as a viable tool for economic sustainability.

As Kristin notes, “It is the education and training of our working adults that is the future of federal financial improvement.”

➡️ Listen to the podcast here.