Pell Grant - History

History

Today, the Pell Grant program assists undergraduates of low-income families, who are actively attending universities and or other secondary institutions. However, before the Pell Grant became what it is today, it went through numerous changes.

In 1965, Congress passed the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA). President Lyndon B. Johnson implemented the HEA as a part of his administration's agenda to assist and improve higher education in the United States. This was the initial legislation to benefit students of lower and middle-income. The HEA program not only included grants but also low interest loans to students who did not fully qualify to receive grants. Universities and other institutions such as vocational schools benefited as well from the HEA program, receiving federal aid to improve the quality of the education process. "The student aid programs administered by the U.S. Department of Education are contained in Title IV of the HEA, which is why they are referred to as "Title IV Programs."

In 1972, Title IX Higher Education Amendments were a response to the distribution of aid in the current grant. Senator Claiborne Pell set forth the initial movements to reform the HEA. Opportunity Grant Program (Basic Grant) were intended to serve as the "floor" or "foundation" of an undergraduate student's financial aid package. Other financial aid, to the extent that it was available, would be added to the Basic Grant up to the limit of a student's financial need. Most changes to the federal student aid program result from a process called "reauthorization". Through the process of reauthorization, Congress examines the status of each program and decides whether to continue that program, and whether a continued program requires changes in structure or purpose. The campus-based programs have been reauthorized every five or six years beginning in 1972.