Years of inconsistent funding for the Pell Grant and state budget cuts played a role in a nearly half-million drop in the number of Black students enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities over the past decade, according to a new report.
The report, from the University of Alabama’s Education Policy Center for the Southern Education Foundation, uses data from the U.S. Department of Education’s Integrated Postsecondary Data System and 47 Pell Grant End-of-Year Reports published by the Department.
Pell Grant growth once boosted college access
Pell Grant funding grew from $14.7 billion to $33.6 billion between the 2007–2008 school year and 2011–2012 school year, according to the report. The number of people awarded the federal student aid skyrocketed from 5.5 million to 9.4 million.
Colleges took advantage of the Pell Grant program and saw record-high enrollments and grant recipients walking through their doors. When Congress passed the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), an economic stimulus package to combat the Great Recession, states were forced to maintain their spending on higher education to receive their share of ARRA funds. As a result, the average Pell Grant jumped from $2,648 to $3,555.
Aftermath of the Great Recession
According to the report, when Congress approved a new budget for fiscal year 2012 — one that ended ARRA funding, many states reduced funding for state colleges rather than raise taxes. In turn, state schools raised tuition, placing a financial strain on students, especially those from low-income households. Congress also didn’t provide any discretionary funding to cover the large number of students receiving Pell Grants between the 2006–2007 and 2011–2012 school years. In 2012, federal lawmakers also placed new restrictions on the Pell Grant, making it harder to qualify for.
Researchers found that the number of Black high schoolers who went to college dropped by 487,109 between 2011–2012 and 2021–2022. The steady drop can be explained by several factors, including inconsistencies in Pell Grant funding, lack of significant state funding, and slow economies.
Nearly half a million fewer Black students in college
“We do not conclude that the enrollment decline of nearly a half million for Black students was solely caused by the declining number of Pell awardees after the 2012 eligibility restrictions were imposed by Congress,” the report said. “However, the total amount of aid Congress allocates each year impacts how many students can access and benefit from a college education.”
Almost 60% of the decline seen in Black students’ college enrollment happened in the American South, where most of the nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities reside.
Southern HBCUs saw the sharpest enrollment declines
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in 17 Southern states — Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, Maryland, Delaware, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida — enrolled 23% fewer Pell recipients in the 2021–2022 school year than a decade before, according to the report. Community colleges in this area of the country also enrolled 46% fewer Pell recipients than a decade ago.
“Nationwide, there are fewer eligible applications for Pell Grants today (9.2 million) than Pell Grant awards a decade ago (9.4 million),” according to the report.
A call for consistent federal and state investment
The report offered several suggestions for federal policymakers to fund the Pell Grant, including mandatory funding for the federal student aid program and requiring federal data reporting about the number of Pell awardees. The report also suggested that state policymakers collaborate with Congress to support stable federal Pell funding, expand their need-based state student aid programs, and tie Pell eligibility to the average Pell Grant rather than the maximum.
“While this report did not conclude a causal relationship between Pell funding and Black student enrollment loss, leaders of both political parties have long noted that the Pell program’s funding structure is among the most complex of any federal program. But the sheer complexity of the Pell Grant program is no excuse for inaction,” the report said. “The time to address the half-million slippage in Black students attending college is now.”
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