By: Bill DeBaun, Senior Director of Data and Strategic Initiatives
Reading time: Five minutes
“We want to get to a place where we’re helping students to thrive through college, not just survive through college,” said Zenani Johnson in Atlanta, GA this morning at the National College Attainment Network's (NCAN) 2022 National Conference.
Her remarks were part of a plenary session titled “Advancing Access to Financial Aid” that featured three college students served by NCAN members talking about the real-life implications of federal, state, and institutional aid programs. Johnson is a
recent graduate from Florida State University who was served by NCAN member the Florida College Access Network.
Johnson was joined by Kaila Pouncy, a student at the University of Alabama and participant with NCAN member Alabama Possible and Morgan Forbes, an Achieve Atlanta Scholar at Spelman College. The panel was moderated by Naomi Harris, national higher education reporter for Open Campus Media.
As often as possible, NCAN lifts up student voices to share their experiences and perspectives. The plenary session panel was a valuable opportunity for attendees at NCAN 2022 to re-center those voices in their work.
All three panelists candidly discussed the support, encouragement, and prioritization on education they received from their family, even in the face of financial difficulties that made pursuing college difficult. “My parents understood how loans can really
be a barrier when you’re trying to matriculate, so they wanted to make sure my sister and I were prepared,” said Forbes.
Pouncy added that for students, seeing the cost of college is a barrier unto itself. “Seeing those big numbers was very off-putting and very discouraging. A lot of students can relate; as they get closer and closer to what they want to do, their goals
start to diminish because they start seeing what it takes.”
The panel’s topic, unfortunately, continues to be especially pertinent in American postsecondary life. As our data shows, postsecondary affordability continues to be on the decline.
In the 2018-19 academic year, just 23% of four-year public colleges were affordable and the average affordability gap, or amount of unmet financial need, for four-year institutions was $2,524. At two-year institutions, affordability was only marginally
better. Only 41% of two-year public colleges were affordable in 2018-19, and the average affordability gap was $855.
NCAN proposes that a given two- or four-year public institution’s total price plus $300 for emergency expenses should not exceed the combined total of:
That institution’s average federal, state, and institutional grant award.
The average federal loan disbursement.
The expected family contribution of the average Pell Grant recipient.
An average Federal Work-Study award.
The contribution of summer wages.
To improve affordability, NCAN has long called for doubling the Pell Grant to restore its purchasing power. The Pell Grant has served as the cornerstone of financial aid for students from low-income backgrounds pursuing higher education since its creation
in 1972. This need-based grant provides crucial support for around seven million students each year, or about one-third of undergraduates.
“Honestly, we need to pour more money into the Pell Grant. My EFC is $0. I am extremely, extremely grateful for the Pell Grant. I would not be in front of you today without the Pell Grant. I would not be in college without the Pell Grant. My chances at
college would’ve been null and void. I need people to understand how reliant people are on that grant and federal aid to go to school,” Pouncy said during the panel.
Unfortunately, the purchasing power of the Pell Grant has continuously declined since the mid-1970s. At its peak in 1975-76, the maximum Pell award was worth more than three-fourths of the average cost of attendance – tuition, fees, and living expenses
– for a four-year public university. Today, it's worth less than 30%.
President Biden called for doubling the Pell Grant by 2029, and Congress has attempted to keep the Pell Grant on pace with inflation by including increases during appropriations cycles. In 2022, the maximum Pell Grant saw its largest boost in the last
decade of $400. Still, only a bolder investment in the program will curtail the rising affordability crisis.
Although federal, state, and institutional grant aid exists for students, accessing it can be difficult for many students, including those from low-income and first-generation backgrounds. “What a lot of people don’t talk about is you don’t really get
prepared for filling out those scholarships…like writing essays, accessing transcripts, and filling out financial documents. I didn’t have anyone who told me how to complete the FAFSA,” said Johnson.
Even once students navigate the myriad obstacles, they often find financial aid barriers on-campus. Forbes noted that in pleading the case for financial aid, “You can put yourself in a vulnerable situation, and then the financial aid office can still
tell you we don’t have any more funds. It can make you feel really frustrated, and that’s not how someone should feel about their education.”
Beyond additional financial aid, there are other supports campuses can provide. Harris noted that distractions outside of the classroom like food and housing insecurity, having to be a caretaker, working additional jobs, are some of the other stressors
many students are grappling with, and especially so in the wake of the pandemic.
Johnson noted that she has “been a strong advocate for ending food and housing insecurity on our campus, ending basic needs insecurity on our campus.” She wants to see more funding for food pantries and for emergency funding.” She asserted that, “It needs
to be a collective effort from universities and our business community to support our students who will be tax-paying citizens and give them the opportunity to thrive on-campus.”
The plenary panel concluded a very successful return to in-person conferencing for NCAN. More than 1,200 attendees converged on Atlanta to reconnect and re-energize about our collective work driving postsecondary access and attainment. Over three days
of plenaries and workshop sessions across 11 tracks, NCAN members and other conference attendees received the best practices and approaches that will carry their work forward.
Members will also carry the panelists’ stories with them. Johnson shared an anecdote about her time at Florida State University where she discovered that three displaced students facing housing insecurity were sleeping at night in just one car. When the
car broke down, it put even more pressure on students in a precarious position. When it comes to meeting students with the supports they need, Johnson said, “I want to see more dollars behind it, not just more talking about it.”
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