Grants: Eligibility Rules at Issue

The U.S. Education Department has dismissed concerns among college leaders about the burden of administering two new federal grant programs for academically talented low-income students. (From the issue dated November 10, 2006)

In final rules that the U.S. Education Department issued last week for two new federal grant programs for academically talented low-income students, agency officials largely dismissed concerns that college leaders and lobbyists have expressed about the burden of carrying out the requirements. At issue is the role colleges must play in determining who is eligible to receive grants through the programs, which Congress created last year. The grants are available to students eligible for Pell Grants and, for the first time, introduce criteria not based solely on need into federal-aid programs for undergraduates from low-income families.