Sustain and Align Funding Across Federal, State, and Institutional Sources for Learner Access and Success
The Commission recommends that local, state, and federal government officials sustain and align funding for education, service, and workforce programs to increase transparency and reduce complexity while closing affordability gaps and smoothing pathways for learners.
Local school districts, higher education institutions, service programs, and workforce training providers can receive funding from a variety of federal, state, local, and private sources, which can lead to conflicting eligibility or reporting requirements and introduces the possibility of variable year-to-year funding. Specific populations such as learners from low-income backgrounds and learners with disabilities may need more support to be ready for postsecondary opportunities and are eligible for vital additional aid that should be maintained.1 As the labor market demands more education and training from the workforce, not only must funding be sustained to ensure that these opportunities for advancement remain accessible to learners and workers; it must also be aligned across the various sources to avoid conflicting regulations and inefficiencies.
The Kalamazoo Promise is a local, place-based “first-dollar” scholarship program in Michigan that guarantees funding of postsecondary education costs up to full tuition and mandatory fees at in-state public and participating private institutions for graduates of Kalamazoo Public Schools who attended for all of grades K-12, with a sliding scale for fewer years of enrollment. Unlike many last-dollar programs, this program’s structure allows learners to layer additional state and federal aid (such as Pell Grants) on top of the award to maximize total financial support. The program also provides flexibility to access these funds anytime within ten years after graduating high school, and it includes an extension for learners who are actively serving in the military.
Community college administrator in California
“Funding those partnerships, not just as a one-off grant, but institutionally funding those partnerships … even the institutional cross-pollination of the different areas, that’s just not funded and nurtured.”
Related recommendation:
Break Down Silos and Build Shared Responsibility Across Education and Workforce SystemsAligning funding also better serves learners who currently navigate a fragmented landscape of applications for federal and state financial aid and private and institutional scholarships or other aid. Increased coordination across these levels and the use of a single application for financial aid would greatly simplify the process and increase access for learners, helping them better understand the types, amounts, and terms of the aid they are eligible for.
Endnotes
- 1
Federal Student Aid, U.S. Department of Education, “Students with Intellectual Disabilities.”
