Pell Grant demand is on the increase amid aid shortfall

WASHINGTON -- For needy college-bound students, federal grants are covering a shrinking share of soaring tuition and fees.

While college tuition and fees rose by an average 14.1 percent at public universities this academic year, the average individual Pell Grant -- the federal government's largest, nonloan aid program -- increased from $2,436 to $2,467. Under President Bush's 2005 budget, the average grant would drop $26, to $2,441, and the maximum amount available -- $4,050 -- would not increase.

Demand for Pell Grants has grown rapidly in recent years, but federal appropriations for the program have not kept pace. Last year, Congress provided $13.1 billion for Pell Grants, and the program is still $3.7 billion in the red.

In 2000, 3.9 million students received Pell Grants; this year, 5.3 million college-bound and continuing students were awarded grants under the Pell program. Higher-education officials attribute the rising demand to a growing number of aspiring students from low-income families and rapidly rising tuition at public and private colleges.

The amount a student receives in a Pell Grant is based on a calculation of a family's income and assets, and the tuition and fees at a chosen college. There is no actual income figure that determines which students are eligible, but for at least the last five years, 90 percent of Pell Grant recipients have come from families with incomes below $40,000.

This year, students at public universities are paying, on average, $4,694 in tuition and fees, while those at private, four-year schools pay $19,710 -- a 6 percent increase over last year's average.

"Students trying to finance an education on a Pell Grant are falling behind relative to inflation and consumer prices, let alone the price of college," said Terry Hartle, a lobbyist for the American Council on Education, which represents colleges.

Hartle said Bush's recent proposals for the Pell program are "interesting," but too modest to solve the federal aid shortfall or significantly alter the 32-year-old Pell program.

One Bush proposal, which would cost $33 million, would increase the maximum Pell Grant by $1,000 for 33,000 first-year students who participate in the State Scholars program. The program, which operates through business and school partnerships in 14 states, sets up rigorous high school curriculum stressing math, science, and foreign languages. It also provides financial incentives for students to take the required courses and to enter college better prepared.

A second Bush proposal, which the president announced earlier this month, would award a $5,000 federal scholarship to about 20,000 low-income students who study math and science in college. Students would have to be eligible for Pell Grants to receive the additional $5,000 award.

"We want to make sure nobody gets left behind, but at the same time, we want to provide proper incentives so people can have hope in this country," Bush said in a speech at South Arkansas Community College in El Dorado, Ark.

The White House said half of the $100 million for the Math and Science Scholars Fund would come from private sources and half from savings gleaned from new time limits on Pell Grants -- eight years to obtain a four-year degree and four years to earn a two-year degree.

Jane Glickman, a spokeswoman for the US Education Department, said under current policy, students can continue to receive Pell Grants for as long as they are making "satisfactory academic progress" toward a degree.

The Bush administration says the caps would encourage students to finish college sooner, but American Association of Community Colleges officials said the plan could make it more difficult for part-time, working students to complete their degrees.

Congress, meanwhile, is scheduled to renew the Higher Education Act this year, and its focus probably will be how to come up with enough money to cover the Pell deficit and help a growing number of college students cope with rising tuition.

For information on Pell Grants and other forms of federal student assistance, the Education Department maintains the website www.studentaid.ed.gov.

Mary Leonard can be reached at mleonard@globe.com.