Recommendations

We recommend the following ways for state policymakers to better support older and parenting students:

Revise grant aid eligibility to focus on need rather than merit-based criteria.

Few older students are able to access merit-based grants, designed to reward top high school students, because of requirements like reporting recent GPAs and college entrance exam scores. For many adults, these are impossible or difficult to obtain. To support older students and maximize the impact of grant dollars, states should focus grant aid on need-based programs and consider relaxing aid eligibility requirements tied to high school and merit-related criteria.

Allow students to access need-based aid regardless of time elapsed since high school.

Some states limit student eligibility for grant aid to a certain amount of time after high school graduation. States want to encourage reskilling and lifelong learning, and they should align their program requirements with that priority.

Provide grants for students enrolled less than full time and regardless of college sector.

Some state grant programs require or incentivize full-time enrollment. Although full-time enrollment is associated with better completion rates, states should consider providing aid to part-time students, given that most students 24 and over enroll part time at least some of the time. Older students with busy lives may struggle to attend full time; not providing them grant aid will only reduce their likelihood of completion.

Revise aid rules so grants to community college students can cover living expenses.

Some states provide smaller state grants to people attending community colleges than to those attending four-year colleges and universities. While this may make sense, given the higher cost of attendance at four-year schools, states should decrease this gap, because it means that adult students and student parents, who are more likely to attend two-year colleges, receive smaller grants. It also means that there is a financial penalty for attending a two-year college, when most of the financial burden students face at those schools is for living expenses, not tuition and fees.

Fully fund state grant programs.

Most state grant programs do not function as entitlements. Instead, there is a set amount of money allocated from the state, and when that money runs out, no further grants can be given that year. This first-come, first-served model results in the most advantaged students, who tend to apply for financial aid early, being more likely to receive a grant. States should consider what Washington State (among others) did and make their need-based aid programs a fully funded entitlement.¹

Make grant aid first-dollar.

First-dollar grant aid is awarded to students before any other financial aid is taken into account. When state grants are the first aid applied to students’ balances, other aid, such as Pell Grants, can then be applied, with any remaining funds returned to students to use for living expenses. When state grants are deployed to close the gap between federal aid and tuition cost, states end up allocating more aid to wealthier students who receive less Pell Grant funding. A first-dollar model for need-based state financial aid means it is better allocated to the students that need it most.

Expand eligibility for SNAP within limited federal parameters.

States should average work hours across semesters or quarters to allow more flexibility and expand access for students. Among postsecondary programs run by state and local government, states can expand the number and types of programs at which students are eligible to receive SNAP benefits. (In fact, several states, including Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, have included programs at community colleges that focus on employment and training.²) In addition, states should use broad-based categorical eligibility to raise income thresholds and implement a less stringent asset test. This policy can also expand the ability of children to receive free meals at school.³

Prioritize TANF dollars for low-income families and allow recipients to attend college.

States should allocate more TANF dollars to cash assistance for needy families, which typically comprises a small slice of spending.⁴ But when states engage in other activities, they should consider those that help low-income parenting students access and complete higher education, including funding work study opportunities and providing access to supports such as child care. When TANF funds are used for financial aid, they should not supplant other state funds and they should only serve parents with low incomes. States should also ensure that attending school can count as a work activity, within federal work participation requirements, and that student parents have access to higher education without other requirements during the year.⁵ Finally, they should use state dollars to fund access to higher education or allow recipients to participate in higher education as a non-countable activity where they have flexibility to do so.

Expand Medicaid and CHIP eligibility.

Include access for adults without children, to ensure that more low-income students as well as student parents with children of all ages have access to health care.

Broaden access to CCDBG and advocate for more funding.

States should ensure that participating in higher education counts as a stand-alone activity (without additional work requirements), increase the amount of time parents have access to child care funding while enrolled in school, and ensure more student parents are eligible by allowing those enrolled part time in a wide variety of programs to access funds.

Encourage students who have attended college before but not completed to return.

Follow the examples of Mississippi, Indiana, and Tennessee by creating campaigns that target potential college competitors to encourage them to return and finish their degrees.⁶ Campaigns should include direct outreach to students who have stopped out, providing financial aid to support their return to college, offering coaching, and supplying further information on and assistance accessing public benefits to help them succeed. States should also make benefits websites and other information more accessible to help students easily assess eligibility requirements.⁷ Given declining enrollment, these approaches would be beneficial to colleges as well as prospective students.

Provide resources for public benefits navigators and other coaching services.

States can help build the capacity of colleges to help people complete their programs and connect to the public benefits for which they are eligible. California and Oregon both support basic needs navigators at each community college campus,⁸ and Iowa funds pathway navigators in high-needs fields at community colleges,⁹ for example. Students at Des Moines Area Community College found these navigators so useful that the college hired additional navigators for programs that the state did not support.