Congress is currently debating proposed changes to Federal Pell Grants. If passed, the changes will take effect for the 2005-06 academic year, which officially begins on July 1. Students do not need to repay Pell Grants, a form of need-based financial aid granted by the federal government. Changes in federal Pell Grant policy will impact a number of students at the College. Currently, about 14 percent of students at the College qualify for Pell grants.

Students who qualify for Pell Grants under the federal formula for calculating eligibility receive a particular amount of money each year with consideration given to other factors such as a student's cost of attendance and time spent in school.

Nationally, approximately $12.5 billion dollars are distributed each year among the five million students who qualify for the Grants. Because of huge increases in the number of qualifying students, Congress was forced to instate a maximum on the award amount. For the 2004-05 academic year, the maximum amount a student could receive was $4,050, posing a problem for those receiving capped aid grants but facing rising tuition costs.

Some Republican politicians say the changes could help to balance the Grant program's $4 billion dollar budget deficit, according The Boston Globe.

"The change that has received publicity … has to do with a rather technical aspect of the formula in calculating family eligibility," said Director of Financial Aid Joe Case.

The proposed bill requires the 1988 tax tables currently used by the United States Department of Education to determine Pell Grant eligibility and need.

Although this update would provide a more accurate indication of financial need, according to Case, the changes would mean program ineligibility for about 80,000 students across the country. Other students would see their grants reduced by an average of $300. This decrease poses a concern since Pell Grants are awarded to students with the greatest financial need.

Case said that changes to Pell Grants could change the federal formula for all aid. "More interestingly, if there is any federal aid in an aid package, the federal formula should dictate the maximum amount of aid student should receive," said Case. "That's really the greater concern to us. There is some shift in Pell Grant students, but there is a shift in all students receiving financial aid. It's really the millions of students who are receiving financial aid awards including federal dollars."

There is less of an impact on students at the College than on college students nation-wide due to Amherst's substantial financial resources. "If we believe that the federal result is inappropriate, we will use our own calculations and resources," said Case. "The real impact is on institutions who don't have their own resources."