Higher education leaders from across the state and in San Antonio are sounding the alarm on what tax and spending changes proposed under the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” could mean to already vulnerable students.
Restricting access to federal Pell Grants could affect thousands of low-income undergraduate students across the nation, and Texas education leaders met Wednesday morning to discuss what this means for students during a virtual panel hosted by the advocacy organization EdTrust.
The version of the bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in late May included more dramatic changes to the program, including a change to the amount of credits needed to be considered a full-time student under Pell Grant qualifications, going from 12 to 15 credits per semester or 30 hours per year. It also eliminates access for those enrolled less than half time.
The Senate version of the bill does not include these two particular changes, but it would still limit access to Pell Grants for students with full-ride scholarships. Advocates are concerned about what particular provisions will remain in the reconciliation bill.
“Around 3 million students would see a near nearly $1,500 decrease annually in their maximum award due to the changes to the definition of the full-time enrollment. And about 1.4 million students will lose their Pell grant funding entirely due to the limitations for students who are enrolled less than half-time,” said Roxanne Garza, higher education policy director at EdTrust.
If this particular change was added to the final bill, advocates say it would hit community colleges the hardest, such as Alamo Colleges District, where about 15,000 students fall short of this 15 credit hours-per-semester threshold.
Priscilla Camacho, Alamo Colleges District Chief Legislative, Industry & External Relations Officer, participated in the panel and said any financial barrier could mean a decrease in enrollment of students with the most need.
Across the five Alamo Colleges campuses, 40% of students are considered economically disadvantaged, 42% are first-generation and 14% are parents, she said, so it’s no surprise that 80% of the more than 76,000 students are attending on a part-time basis.
“They are working multiple jobs to be able to go to school and to also provide for their families,” Camacho said. “They cannot afford to go full-time.”
The University of Texas at San Antonio, which welcomes many transfer students from Alamo Colleges, would also feel the brunt of these changes, as nearly half of its 35,900 enrolled students are Pell Grant recipients.
Both institutions have created “promise” programs — UTSA Bold Promise and AlamoPROMISE — that aim to help cover unmet financial need of students who qualify for federal financial aid such as Pell Grants.
Across the state of Texas, the average unmet financial need for a low-income student was roughly $11,600 during the 2022-23 academic school year, said Bryan Ashton, managing director of the nonprofit research organization Trellis Strategies. And in the state’s community college sector, Pell Grants make up the largest source of financial aid to cover the overall cost of college including housing, books and food.
“Sixty percent of Texas undergrads reported working while they were enrolled in their post-secondary education pursuits,” Ashton said. “And in our 2-year (college) respondents, over half of those individuals reported working more than 40 hours per week.”
Students from across Alamo Colleges District participated in the latest Student Financial Wellness Survey conducted by Trellis Strategies. The survey found that nearly half of all participating students faced food and housing insecurity, while also half of students who reported working while attending a two-year institution said they hold full-time jobs.
But one issue that remains in both the House and Senate versions is the way Pell Grant lifetime eligibility is calculated, Camacho of Alamo Colleges said, which would count other forms of financial aid, including full-ride scholarships, toward their Pell eligibility over the course of their undergraduate education.
“That’s something else to think about because it’s not just about the students as they achieve the associates degree with us, it’s also about their ability to continue to get aid once they transfer to a four-year university if that’s their plan,” Camacho said.
President Donald Trump had set a deadline of July 4 for Congress to pass the bill, which experts say is likely to be extended.
The San Antonio Report partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage.
