Dive Brief:

• A new report from the Center for American Progress proposes that the federal government create a fund that would encourage states to invest in public colleges and universities.
• States would receive federal matching grants in exchange for helping pay at least as much as the maximum Pell Grant per student in indirect and direct support to public higher ed institutions.
• The states would also have to that guarantee low-income students receive grant aid to cover the cost of pursuing an associate or bachelor’s degree at a public school, according to the proposal.

Dive Insight:

The Center for American Progress report shows how state support for higher ed has been pulling back since the Great Recession, leading to declines in low-income and middle-income student enrollments. Under the center’s proposal, the states would improve performance by setting graduation rate and other goals for public higher ed institutions, standardize transfer credits and admissions requirements for the public schools, and raise K-12 standards to improve the readiness of incoming students. Most of the proposed federal funding to the states would be allocated based on their support for low-income students and military veterans.