Episode 38: What’s Next for Federal Student Aid?

Julie Peller, executive director of Higher Learning Advocates, visits the podcast to talk about the financial aid policies and programs that might be proposed by Congress in the coming months, including doubling the maximum Pell Grant award and free college, and what this means in particular to post-traditional learners. Peller and the hosts also discuss what students need post-pandemic, like a permanent solution for funding for programs beyond tuition and textbooks, and how institutions can be more accommodating and creative about support programs. Here are some of the links and references from this week’s show: American Rescue Plan Act of 2021: Simulated Distribution of Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds ACE2021, ACE’S Annual Meeting (March 24-26) Statement by ACE President Ted Mitchell on Final Congressional Passage of COVID-19 Relief Legislation Student Loan Forgiveness May Become Tax-Free Under Covid Relief Bill. Here’s What That Means for Borrowers CNBC | March 8, 2021 Biden Will Revisit Trump Rules on Campus Sexual Assault The New York Times (sub. req.) | March 8, 2021 Congress Moves to Reauthorize Violence Against Women Act CNN | March 9, 2021 Higher Learning Advocates How We Can Double the Pell Grant Medium | March 8, 2021 Analysis of U.S. Experiment on Short-Term Pell Inside Higher Ed | Dec. 16, 2020 The Case for Quantum LEAP New America | Jan. 28, 2021