By: Dr. Cynthia Teniente-Matson and Dr. Mildred García Updated 16 May 2022, 16: 40 pm EDT
Many low-income and first-generation students grow up believing that a college education and its economic benefits are simply out of reach.
As first-generation Latinas, the Pell Grant financial assistance provided us with the necessary support and access to that education that changed our lives. For many underprivileged youth, this financial support has given them the opportunity to access higher education.
Currently, as leaders of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU , for its acronym in English) we know that an education creates critical thinkers, better citizens of the world and allows to create a path of opportunity that extends to a new generation of students.
However, today many students still face an adverse financial situation, which even with the help of the federal subsidy prevents them from being able to pay for a four-year public university without having to acquire too expensive a debt.
As the Pell Grant benefits are relatively reduced , many students are left with enormous debt, the need to work more, leave their studies without graduating, and without the economic benefits that a degree provides. university degree.
As the benefits of the Pell Grant are relatively reduced, many students are left with an enormous debt, the need to work more, leave school without graduating, and without the financial benefits of a college degree.
Doubling the maximum Pell Grant benefits would make economic mobility possible for the next generation.
The purchasing power of the Pell subsidy has not kept pace with inflation. Therefore, today it only covers a quarter of the cost of attending a public four-year university. Through our work with public colleges and universities, we know that they are the ones that attract a diverse student body and that they are also the ones that have suffered from the loss of state funding, leaving students to rely more and more on of student loans so you can achieve your dream of earning a college degree.
It is the students of public universities who receive the majority of the subsidies, which represents the 40 % of the nearly 7 million Americans who receive the Pell Grant annually. It is these public colleges and universities that attract students from diverse backgrounds, but particularly those from non-traditional families, from low-income households, or who belong to marginalized groups.
As first-generation Latinas in college, we know firsthand how important it is for students from underserved communities to have access to education. The Pell grant is particularly crucial for students from diverse backgrounds who are the first in their family to go to college. Nearly half of Latino students and first-generation students receive Pell financial aid each year.
The Pell Grant not only makes college more affordable, it also increases college success and graduation rates. But while the purchasing power of the subsidy decreases, double it to a maximum of $13, would be the best alternative to be able to advance in educational and economic equity.
Even among those who manage to complete their studies college and earn their degrees, economic mobility remains a challenge for students from diverse backgrounds. Latino borrowers still owe 80% of their debt 12 years after graduation on average. These graduates are more likely to be behind on student loan payments compared to just a third of whites in the same situation.
While the value of educational costs covered with the Pell subsidy decreases, students go deeper and deeper into debt. When our students carry high-interest debt, social mobility becomes increasingly out of reach.
Social mobility in the United States is beyond the reach of low-income families. While the highest-income Americans have even higher incomes than their parents did, the 70 percent of children raised in the lowest segment in the income scale will remain below the median income as adults. Among children raised in the upper segment, 63 percent will not fall below the average level on the economic ladder. This is a phenomenon that experts have referred to as “permanence of the two extremes”.
One of the factors that contribute to this state of permanence is higher education. Nearly half of those raised in the lowest income segment of the economic ladder who do not go on to earn a college degree remain stuck at that level as adults, compared to only the 10% of those who manage to graduate from college with a college degree. The data supports that trend when both long-term wealth and income are measured.
Getting a college degree makes a person four times more likely to fall out of the bottom bracket income on the economic ladder to climb to the top. By doubling the federal Pell Grant and bolstering the success of the students it serves, we’re ensuring that the economic future of America’s children is not predetermined.
The United States is known as the country of opportunities, especially for those who believe that their birth condition should not limit their opportunities for improvement. By doubling the Pell Grant, we can ensure that education continues to be the vehicle for achieving the dreams of underserved and underserved students by making an investment in their future and the economic future of this country.
Dr. Mildred García became president of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU).
Dr. Cynthia Teniente-Matson is President of Texas A&M University-San Antonio (A&M-SA)