For most of its 50-year history, the Pell Grant has not covered summer classes, with two brief exceptions: 2009-2011 and 2017 to the present. Summer Pell, officially called year-round Pell, stands on uncertain ground, subject to the shifting priorities of Congress, which ended it originally due to its cost and a lack of evidence of its efficacy. Now, a new study from the Community College Research Center at Columbia University has shown that summer Pell has had meaningful benefits, improving retention, attainment, and even earnings up to nine years after college entry for students who received it.
Vivian Yuen Ting Liu, associate director of the office of research, evaluation, and program support at the City University of New York
Students with summer Pell in the 2009-2011 period were 29% more likely to enroll in classes the following fall, 13% more likely to have earned an associate degree within three years, and 7% more likely to have earned a bachelor’s degree within six, compared with students who did not have access to the grants.
“What we are finding here is pretty large,” said Liu, equivalent to hundreds of additional students staying in school and earning degrees. Increases for students with summer Pell between 2017 and now were even higher, which Liu attributed to the absence of the Great Recession, less confusion about the program, and the fact that the program has lasted longer.
The benefits of summer Pell didn’t stop at the acquisition of a credential—summer funding also affected the earnings of students who were able to take advantage. Students with summer Pell consistently made 6% more per year than students without, equivalent to over $1300 extra, nine years after entering college.
Liu was surprised about how long the influence of summer Pell seems to have lasted.
“A lot of policies, you expect to have an effect within that semester and then maybe in one year, but very rarely do you find consistent positive impact down the road,” she said.
