A new bill, introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday, aims to “motivate students” to graduate by taking aim at Pell Grants.
The proposal, sponsored by Rep. Francis Rooney, Republican of Florida, and Rep. Ralph Norman, Republican of South Carolina, would compel students to repay Pell Grants — which, unlike loans, do not require repayment — if they did not complete their program within six years. The bill would apply to all students eligible for Pell Grants, including students at community colleges.
In a news release announcing the proposal, Mr. Rooney said it would guarantee “more bang for the taxpayer’s buck.” While it is important for Pell Grants to be accessible to low-income students, he said, it is equally as important that the students are “committed to graduating and joining the work force.”
The legislation is not likely to move through Congress outside of a reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, and even then, its odds of getting enough support to pass are slim. However, several advocates, pointing to the recently passed tax bill in the House, say it is the latest sign of a Republican assault on higher education and students.
Tamara Hiler, a senior policy adviser at Third Way, a centrist think tank, said it’s good to see that there is a focus on completion. However, “the fact that students would be the ones bearing the responsibility for having to pay back these grants,” which would become unsubsidized loans, is “a really problematic way of approaching the problem.”
In fact, she said, by placing the burden on low-income students receiving Pell Grants, the bill would remove all incentives for institutions with low completion rates to do better.
Mr. Norman, one of the bill’s sponsors, said in a written statement: “This legislation will ultimately save taxpayer dollars by holding Pell Grant recipients accountable for not graduating on time, rather than leaving the taxpayer to foot the bill.”
But experts are not sure how exactly it would work.
The legislation would not only be administratively difficult to carry out, said Robert Kelchen, an assistant professor of higher education at Seton Hall University; it would also be extremely punitive for students.
“If the goal was to try to protect taxpayer funds, what they could do instead is just require students to make better progress as they go,” he said, perhaps by raising standards for students’ progress toward a degree or certificate, as opposed to punishing them on the back end. Right now, as long as students make satisfactory progress — a standard measured differently at different programs and institutions — they remain eligible for Pell Grants.
Adam Harris is a breaking-news reporter. Follow him on Twitter @AdamHSays or email him at adam.harris@chronicle.com.
