Study finds Pell Grant losing value nationally

A 1998 nationwide study showed that because of rising tuition costs, Pell Grant awards are worth half of what they were 20 years ago.

But at the University of Arizona, their value in relation to tuition has not decreased quite as much.

On average, the grants' value would have to increase 100 percent to cover the same portion of college tuition they did 20 years ago, but grants to UA students would only need to increase 80 percent, said John Nametz, director of need-based aid in the Office of Student Financial Aid.

Nametz said one reason is the UA's relatively low enrollment costs.

"Arizona has one of the lowest tuition rates in the country," Nametz said.

The study, released by the Education Resources Institute and the Institute for Higher Education Policy, showed the maximum 1977 Pell Grant award of $1,400 covered about 72 percent of a year's worth of tuition at a four-year public university and an average of 35 percent at a four-year private institution.

However, the 1997 Pell Grant maximum of $2,470 offsets 34 percent of yearly costs at a four-year public university and 13 percent of private college tuition on average.

But at the UA, the 1997 maximum covers 25 percent of the estimated $9,839 cost per year for a student living on campus. The UA's financial aid office calculated the cost of living by surveying 1,300 students about their living and tuition expenses.

The maximum Pell Grant awarded during 1999-2000 will be $3,125.

The study also found the average cost of attending college nationwide increased 304 percent between 1977 and 1997. The UA's tuition and living costs rose 241 percent for residents and 316 percent for nonresidents in the same time period.

Nametz said the 6,683 students awarded Pell Grants at the UA this year received a total of $14 million, up from $12 million last year.

"We're $2 million ahead of last year," he said.

Nametz said the Pell Grant's decrease in relative value may be a result of a U.S. government effort to encourage individual states to make up the difference.

"The federal government may have said, 'Hey, states need to do their share,'" he said. "Over the past 20-year period, there was a general slippage of federal grants."

In recent history, states have developed their own grant programs and have relied less on the federal government, Nametz said.

Still, the trend could change for political reasons, he said.

"We're going into a major election in 2000," Nametz said. "Students may fare well."

Stephanie Corns can be reached via e-mail at Stephanie.Corns@wildcat.arizona.edu.