College loan administrators are raising concerns about what the latest expansion of the Pell Grant program could mean for student borrowers in Maine.
Mila Tappan at the Finance Authority of Maine said more than half of Maine students that apply for financial aid are eligible for Pell Grants. She is concerned that since congress has expanded eligibility to apply to short term instructional programs, individual awards may be reduced at a time when education costs are rising.
"So I think that's where the concern is...will the Pell grants increase in the future to reflect the fact that costs are going up, or, you know, even a more impactful problem is, could they be decreased going further?" Tappan said.
According to the non-profit Committee for a Responsible Budget, the expansion of eligibility will add an expected two billion dollars to the program's cost over the next decade.
Tappan said that anyone who qualifies for Pell receives the money, making it one of the most reliable sources of financial aid in higher education. But recent changes could mean reduced benefits for borrowers in the future.
"The program has been expanded, or simply, there's more students who are applying, who are eligible, and so they're funding all of those people who are eligible. And so the cost can you know, have gone up over time, sometimes maybe a little unpredictably," Tappan said.
Tappan said she doubts that the Pell Grant program will go away but she is concerned that grant awards could be decreased even as the cost of higher education rises.
