Pell Grants Updated for 2006

The Pell Grant Program is a need-based, undergraduate grant program funded by the federal government. Five million students, one-third of undergraduates, receive an average of $2,500 per year in Pell Grants to finance their education at accredited colleges or universities. Students do not pay back the grants. The maximum annual grant remains frozen at $4,050 for the 4th straight year. Among changes to the Pell Grant program, commencing for the 2005-2006 federal year are:

- Grants will now be available year-round, rather than just during specified date periods.

- Previously, students who had been convicted of a drug offense were ineligible for Pell Grants. This was changed to only exclude students convicted of drug offenses while students.

- For schools' students to be eligible for Pell Grants, colleges must provide intellectual climates that support a wide range of views, and not permit professors to punish students who don't see eye-to-eye with them.

- More colleges will now be eligible for their students to receive Pell Grants, as a provision was eliminated from the Higher Education Act that barred federal financial aid programs being extended to schools that offer more than half of their courses online or via distance education.

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