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On July 19, NSC Executive Director Andy Van Kleunen gave the keynote speech at a meeting of the Rethinking Pell Grants Study Group in DC. The group—made up of 14 experts in higher education finance, student aid, workforce development, college administration and policy analysis—was convened by the College Board to explore ways to strengthen the Pell Grant program and better serve an increasingly diversified student body. They recently released Rethinking Pell Grants, a report featuring recommendations for improving the Pell Grant program for young people growing up in low- and moderate-income families, while also better serving older adults returning to school to improve their labor market opportunities.
Andy applauded the group for “having the guts” to put out a report about the controversial topic of restructuring Pell, given that many believe there should be no changes to the program, while others think the report’s recommendations don’t go far enough.
He honed in on six key points to kick off the strategy meeting:
This meeting was a first step in the process of uniting the workforce development and financial aid communities to address the critical issue of postsecondary success of adult students. National Skills Coalition looks forward to continuing our involvement in these conversations and working with all interested stakeholders to improve the financial aid system serving younger and older students alike.
Check out Andy’s full speech here.
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