Pell Grant faces a shortfall as more people head back to school in uncertain economic times.
It’s “the mother of all shortfalls,” according to one Washington insider. Others worry that it may get lost amid the nation’s larger financial crises involving banks and mortgage lenders.
But one thing is increasingly clear: Fueled by a declining economy that has many lowincome Americans returning to school, the Pell Grant program is facing a growing shortfall that soon may reach $6 billion.
“It’s such a large figure that Congress and the administration cannot ignore it,” says Barmak Nassirian, associate executive director of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers.
In calling it “the mother of all shortfalls,” Nassirian tells Diverse that it will dwarf past shortfalls, including the one that followed the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The last shortfall was exacerbated by Sept. 11 and the economic slowdown that followed. The shortfall was about $1.3 billion in late 2001 and, with Congress taking no action, it grew to $2 billion in the 2002 and $3.7 billion in 2004. Congress finally paid it off in 2006, when it was $4.3 billion.
“It’s just huge,” he tells Diverse. “Ignoring it would bring draconian cuts.”
