A Very Bad Proposal for Pell
Diane Auer Jones
June 11, 2025
Diane Auer Jones argues that the proposal to tie full Pell Grant eligibility to a 15-credit load will decrease completion rates and deter low-income students from STEM-related fields.
For years I’ve been hearing a small group of lobbyists promote the crazy idea that Congress should increase the minimum number of credits required to qualify for full Pell Grants from 12 to 15.
Yes, I can do the math. I understand that 15 times 4 gets a theoretical community college student to program completion on time, just as 15 times 8 gets a theoretical four-year college student to the same goal. But having taught at a community college, I understand that what might make sense in theory could have devastating consequences for the very real people who are in the greatest need of federal student aid.
