Analysis Shows Effectiveness of Short-Term Pell Pilots

A new study from the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES) examined two federal pilot programs and found positive impacts of extending Pell grant eligibility to short-term CTE programs. The two pilot programs were conducted between 2012 and 2017 to determine if access to credentials would improve low-income displaced workers’ job opportunities after the Great Recession (2007–2009). A total of 46 postsecondary institutions participated in the study, with 414 learners in the first experiment and 2,270 learners in the second experiment, each receiving an average of $1,800 in Pell grant aid.

The first pilot looked at income-eligible learners with bachelor’s degrees receiving Pell grants for short-term training programs lasting up to one year with full-time attendance (or two years with part-time attendance). The results from this group showed that learners were 26% more likely to enroll in short-term CTE programs if they received Pell funding. Program completion rates also increased by 17% compared to learners who did not receive Pell grant funds, and 11% of the grant recipients were more likely to complete a program in a high-demand field for their state.

The second pilot program focused on income-eligible learners who received Pell funds for very short-term programs lasting between eight weeks and 15 weeks. In this experiment, learners were 15% more likely to enroll in a short-term CTE program, 9% more likely to complete a program, and 8% more likely to complete a program in a high-demand field for their state.

The report found no compelling evidence that extending Pell funds for short-term programs would discourage learners from earning an associate degree. Also, learners who received the experimental grant aid were just as likely as other students to take out federal student loans with similar loan amounts. However, this effect was driven largely by the longer term programs; for the very short-term CTE programs, only 9% took out federal student loans and the amounts disbursed were smaller.