Dive Summary:
- Effective this fall, a new rule reduces the number of full-time semesters a student can receive the need-based federal Pell grant from 18 to 12.
- The federal government considered several cost-saving measures for the Pell grant program, including reducing the amount of the grant (which maxes out at $5,550 a year for a full time student), before determining that the 12-semester cap was the least damaging to students who were making good progress.
- Diane Stemper, executive director of financial aid at Ohio State University, says the changes will be beneficial to students, forcing them to work on a plan towards a degree.
From the article:
Some Northeast Ohio college students have exhausted their eligibility for the free federal Pell grant. A new rule, effective this fall, reduced the number of full-time semesters that students could receive the need-based aid from 18 to 12, or six years of college. "The Pell grant program has grown so significantly in the last decade and the federal government had to look for some cost-saving measures," said Diane Stemper, executive director of financial aid at Ohio State University.