Skip to main content
  • About IHEP
    • About IHEP
    • Message from our President
    • History
    • What We Do
      • What We Do
      • Current Initiatives
        • Current Initiatives
        • Postsecondary Data Collaborative
        • Degrees When Due
        • Assessing The Impact of Prison-Based Postsecondary Education Programs
      • Previous Initiatives
        • Previous Initiatives
        • Global Initiatives
        • IHEP Champions of Access and Success
        • College Not Prison
        • Minority-Serving Institutions-Models of Success Program
        • Film Series: Federal Student Aid History
        • Summer Academy
        • Community Partnership for Attainment
        • Symposium on Financial Literacy and College Success at Minority-Serving Institutions
        • Walmart Minority Student Success Initiative
        • BEAMS
        • Project Win-Win
        • Redefining Access for the 21st-Century Student
        • Reimagining Aid Design and Delivery
        • Pathways to College Network
    • Who We Are
      • Who We Are
      • IHEP Staff
      • Board of Directors
      • Emeritus
    • Partners
      • Partners
      • Funding Partners
    • Working at IHEP
      • Working at IHEP
      • Career Opportunities
  • Policy Priorities
    • Policy Priorities
    • Affordability & Need-Based Aid
    • Data & Transparency
    • Degree Completion
    • Higher Education for Students Impacted by the Criminal Justice System
  • Research
    • Research
    • Publications
    • Search Publications
  • Press
    • Press
    • News Releases
    • Letters, Opinions, and Statements
    • Press Clips
  • Donate
  • Contact Us

25 Years of Equity

Twitter Facebook

  • About IHEP
    • Message from our President
    • History
    • What We Do
      • Current Initiatives
        • Postsecondary Data Collaborative
        • Degrees When Due
        • Assessing The Impact of Prison-Based Postsecondary Education Programs
      • Previous Initiatives
        • Global Initiatives
          • Global Policy Fellows Program
        • IHEP Champions of Access and Success
        • College Not Prison
        • Minority-Serving Institutions-Models of Success Program
        • Film Series: Federal Student Aid History
        • Summer Academy
          • Participating Institutions
        • Community Partnership for Attainment
          • Participating Communities
        • Symposium on Financial Literacy and College Success at Minority-Serving Institutions
          • Participating Institutions
        • Walmart Minority Student Success Initiative
          • Participating Institutions
        • BEAMS
          • Participating Institutions
        • Project Win-Win
        • Redefining Access for the 21st-Century Student
        • Reimagining Aid Design and Delivery
        • Pathways to College Network
    • Who We Are
      • IHEP Staff
      • Board of Directors
      • Emeritus
    • Partners
      • Funding Partners
    • Working at IHEP
      • Career Opportunities
  • Policy Priorities
    • Affordability & Need-Based Aid
    • Data & Transparency
    • Degree Completion
    • Higher Education for Students Impacted by the Criminal Justice System
  • Research
    • Publications
    • Search Publications
  • Press
    • News Releases
    • Letters, Opinions, and Statements
    • Press Clips
  • Donate
  • Contact Us

You are here

Home / Research / Publications

Policy Steps – Pell Grants: Are Prisoners the Program’s Biggest Problem?

Authors: Institute for Higher Education Policy

Published: April 1994

Federal and state investment in higher education is essential for expanding educational opportunity and building a 21st century workforce. But despite a national commitment to improving access to quality education for all students, adequate funding remains a persistent challenge. For example, the federal Pell Grant program is the bedrock of educational opportunity for thousands of low-income students, but the program has not kept pace with the rising costs of college. State contributions to higher education vary from year to year, causing uncertainty for students, families, and institutions.

This edition of Policy Steps evaluates three proposed solutions to the challenge of providing access to higher education for all of our students, including eliminating Pell Grant eligibility for incarcerated students, switching states to Biennial budgets to stabilize higher education funding, and U.S. Sen. James Jeffords’ (R-Vt.) plan to increase federal spending on education by one percent each year until it equals 10 percent of the federal budget.

Key findings in this edition include:

  • Pell Grant eligibility for incarcerated students makes up less than one percent of the program’s spending.
  • The number of incarcerated students receiving Pell Grants does not affect how many non-incarcerated students qualify for the program nor does it affect the maximum award amount.
  • The true shortcoming of the Pell Grant program is persistent underfunding, and the discrepancies between authorized and awarded grant maximums.  
  • Higher education appropriations were more consistent in Biennial state budgets than Annual state budgets.
  • Sen. Jeffords’ “1% for Education” plan would greatly increase federal funding for education, but an appropriate fixed dollar amount should be allocated to higher education, with the largest funding increases going to the Pell Grant program.

When discussing ways to improve access to higher education, a continued focus on federal and state funding is essential.  Student aid programs must be funded appropriately to keep pace with the rising cost of college, and state contributions must remain consistent.

View PDF

Policy Priorities

  • Access & Success

More Like This

  • Where Financial Aid Began: Partnering with Campuses and States (Viewing Guide)
  • FY2011 Budget Proposal: Thoughts and Recommendations for Increasing College Access and Success
  • Pell Grant: Building Block of Student-Based Aid (Viewing Guide)
  • Rhetoric and Reality: Effects and Consequences of the HOPE Scholarship
  • Learning to Reduce Recidivism: A 50-State Analysis of Postsecondary Correctional Education Policy

Research

  • Publications
  • Search Publications

© Institute for Higher Education Policy 1993-2020.
1825 K Street, N.W., Suite 720 Washington, DC 20006
(202) 861-8223 TELEPHONE (202) 861-9307 FAX
institute@ihep.org  |  Join Our Mailing List | Read Our Privacy Policy | Read Our Informed Consent Policy

© Institute for Higher Education Policy
1993-2014.
1825 K Street, N.W., Suite 720 
Washington, DC 20006
(202) 861-8223 TELEPHONE
(202) 861-9307 FAX
institute@ihep.org
Join Our Mailing List