At a time when polls show that two-thirds of Americans think higher education is no longer worth the cost, Forsyth Technical Community College has a message for them.
“College,” he said, “couldn’t cost you anything.”
The planned marketing slogan refers to the most dramatic expansion in more than 50 years of federal funding for education after high school — and the fact that few consumers know they could benefit from the type of programs for which hundreds of millions of dollars will be available as early as this summer.
This lack of awareness is compounded by the fact that many states responsible for implementing this policy are not yet ready, meaning that only a relatively small number of consumers will initially be able to use the money for a relatively small number of programs.
“There is a huge lack of awareness with people not understanding what it is, what programs are eligible and how much they can get,” said Devin Purgason, associate vice president of student experience, marketing and outreach at Forsyth Tech, located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
The new policy, known as the Workforce Pell, expands the reach of federal Pell grants by helping low-income learners pay not only for associate’s or bachelor’s degrees but also for non-degree job training lasting as little as eight weeks, which was not previously covered. in areas of high demand including nursing, phlebotomy, child care, truck driving, welding, auto repair, and HVAC. This at a time when two-thirds of registered voters think a four-year degree is no longer worth the price.
Passed less than a year ago as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the Workforce Pell had to be implemented so quickly that the National Governors Association calls him “one of the most important short-term policy challenges” that states have faced.
Although the provisions officially take effect on July 20, states and institutions are allowed to start as early as July 1. But most still struggle to determine which training programs will satisfy the dozens of pages of documents. eligibility conditions. The Governors Association advised the members only approve a limited number of the highest quality programs at first.
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“I don’t know if it’s going to be some sort of inauguration moment on July 1,” said Autumn Rivera, senior policy specialist for state and federal education and workforce at the National Conference of State Legislatures. “It’s one of those things where states are still trying to figure this out.”
One result is that no matter how big a change may seem, it is almost certain to start small. Of the tens of thousands of non-degree programs available on the market, only a few hundred are likely to initially meet the eligibility criteria, which includes requirements that at least 70 percent of learners graduate and within six months get a job that pays enough to justify the cost, the U.S. Department of Education said.
Up to 28,000 people could potentially qualify, Education Undersecretary Nicholas Kent told a conference of education journalists.
More than half of non-degree programs in trades and business and about half in health should be coveredbut only 4 percent will be reduced in the areas of “public service and consumption”, which include subjects such as early childhood education, retail and culinary areas, fashion and interior design, the department estimates. In one state, North Carolina, a consultant hired to compare all kinds of community college non-degree programs with Workforce Pell requirements found that only about 4 percent were eligible.
While more than 4 million students per year take courses without a degree at community colleges only, according to the American Association of Community Colleges, the Department of Education expects that between 184,000 and 188,000 per year to benefit from it of the Pell workforce. The Congressional Budget Office projects that this figure will be closer to 100,000. This compares to 7.4 million recipients who receive Pell Grants each year for bachelor’s and associate’s degrees.
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However, payments are on average about $2,200 each will be available starting this summer to learners in non-degree programs who previously did not have access to federal Pell Grants. These include courses leading to certificates, professional licenses and certifications.
“It’s a way for learners to really think, ‘Hey, I can go back and get this critical degree to become upwardly mobile,’” said Priscilla Camacho, director of legislative affairs, industry and external relations at the Alamo Colleges District in San Antonio, Texas.
Like Forsyth Tech, Alamo is preparing to promote its Workforce Pell-eligible programs – in its case, with a one minute video this avoids complex insider jargon. “Your fast path to in-demand careers,” he calls them simply.
“Even though we provide these short-term learning opportunities, the people we talk to in the focus groups don’t consider themselves students,” said Kristi Wyatt, Alamo vice chancellor for strategic communications, marketing and brand experience. “Many of them are adults who work with families and are looking for the quickest way to upskill. »
The average age of people traditionally enrolled in non-degree courses is 38according to research based on Texas job training data, making them harder to find and recruit than, say, high school students.
Surveys show that less than half of the people those who could benefit most from these non-degree programs know about them.
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Not even college counselors and guidance counselors are ready to advise consumers on the types of programs covered by the Workforce Pell, according to a survey by the National College Attainment Network. Fewer than one in ten said they felt very comfortable explaining the programs, while 40 percent said they were not very or not at all confident.
“A lot of these populations don’t know it exists,” said Rivera, of the association of state legislatures. “This is one of the main concerns raised by our members.”
There are other obstacles. Legislation left it mainly to the States determine which fields are most in demand and which programs meet the requirements, including which graduates get jobs and earn salaries that justify the cost of training. At least a quarter of the states I haven’t collected before this data, according to the research.
When such information is available, it is often distributed between different agenciesis incomplete and limited and excludes people who work for themselves or for the government or military, which are not part of the unemployment insurance system commonly used to track work history, according to an analysis by consulting firm HCM Strategists.
Without robust reporting on results, defenders fear that the sudden infusion of federal money could lead to deceptive recruiting tactics and other consumer risks that have historically characterized some non-degree programs.
In the past, “short-term programs were attractive to abusive universities because they could lose a lot of students in a short period of time,” said James Kvaal, undersecretary of education in the Biden administration and now vice president for the national program at the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
Navigating the vast number of accreditation programs of all kinds has only become more difficult. There is nearly 1.9 million Such programs are offered in the United States by 134,491 degree and non-degree providers, according to the nonprofit Counting Credentials Project.
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Yields vary considerably. A study by researchers at the University of Michigan and the Strada Education Foundation found that graduates of non-degree programs at Texas community colleges earned about 4 percent moretwo years after finishing, which they had not earned before enrolling. But the increase for those trained in transportation and engineering technologies was two to four times higher, while learners who studied business, marketing, information science, communication and design saw virtually no gains.
A separate study of 23,000 non-degree earners, by the American Enterprise Institute and the Burning Glass Institute, found that just over one in 10 resulted in a degree. a 10 percent or more salary increase.
Yet providers — many of whom are for-profit schools — that teach programs that are almost sure to be disqualified from the Workforce Pell face pushback. Eighty-three percent of objections during a comment period, they were defending schools that teach these subjects, according to an analysis by higher education consultant Phil Hill and Associates. Nearly 93 percent of cosmetology programs will not meet the requirements, for example, Hill calculated.
Meanwhile, those whose programs are likely to qualify said they can’t wait to get started.
“The opportunity is going to be great,” said Purgason, of Forsyth Tech. “I just think we’re going to be very slow in this area.”
Contact writer Jon Marcus at 212-678-7556, jmarcus@hechingerreport.org Or jpm.82 on Signal.
This story about Pell Grants for Vocational Training was produced byThe Hechinger reportan independent, nonprofit news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Subscribe to ourhigher education newsletter. Listen to our higher education podcast.
The article The biggest expansion of federal scholarships in 50 years is within reach – and almost no one is ready for it appeared first in the Hechinger Report.
