Project Activities
Research question
- Does expanding Pell grant eligibility to include income-eligible students with a bachelor's degree (Experiment 1) and/or to cover shorter-term programs (Experiment 2) increase enrollment in and completion of postsecondary programs? Did offering experimental Pell Grants affect the types of programs that students enrolled in or completed?
- Does expanding Pell grant eligibility to these groups affect federal financial aid receipt? Does offering experimental Pell Grants affect students' use of federal student loans? What percentage of students who were offered experimental Pell Grants used them?
- Does expanding Pell grant eligibility to these groups improve employment rates and earnings?
Structured Abstract
Design
Between the 2012 and 2017 award years, 46 postsecondary institutions volunteered to participate and identified nearly 3,000 students eligible for the experiments. Students were randomly assigned to be offered or not offered experimental Pell Grant funds in their financial aid package. Using student administrative records collected from participating postsecondary institutions and the Office of Federal Student Aid, the study examined program enrollment, completion, and financial aid receipt. A supplemental analysis used data from the National Directory of New Hires to explore impacts on employment and earnings.
Key findings
- Offering Pell Grants for short-term occupational training programs to students with low income who have a bachelor's degree increased program enrollment and completion by about 20 percentage points.
- Offering Pell Grants for very short-term occupational training programs increased program enrollment and completion by about 10 percentage points.
- More than half of students offered experimental Pell Grants used them, receiving an average grant amount of $1,800; they were just as likely as those not offered the grants to also use federal student loans.
- Despite boosting program enrollment and completion, offering experimental Pell Grants did not increase employment or earnings in the medium to long term.
People and institutions involved
IES program contact(s)
Products and publications
A report, titled The Effects of Expanding Pell Grant Eligibility for Short Occupational Training Programs: Results from the Experimental Sites Initiative, was released in December 2020.
An updated report, titled The Effects of Expanding Pell Grant Eligibility for Short Occupational Training Programs: New Results on Employment and Earnings from the Experimental Sites Initiative, was released in November 2024.
Questions about this project?
To answer additional questions about this project or provide feedback, please contact the program officer.
