The Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology, a private two-year college located in Boston, offers an 800-hour certificate program in HVAC and refrigeration. President and CEO Aisha Francis said she would like to divide the program segments to create continuing education courses for HVAC technicians looking to improve their skills, such as offering a course on pump installation to heat. But the school, which attracts mainly black and Latino men interested in careers, can’t make it work financially. About half of the school’s students receive federal Pell Grants to help finance their education, and short-term certificate courses are not eligible for Pell funding.

“Most of our students are on very low incomes, so even if they want to learn the skills, they are not able to pay for them. » said François.

Many fields today are facing labor shortages. At the same time, some students are looking for a quick degree to enter the job market. Short-term certificate programs can help students get an entry-level job or learn new skills. For example, a student interested in medicine can train as a certified nursing assistant or emergency medical technician, then earn money while deciding whether they want to continue moving up the career ladder in the field of health.

Yet federal Pell Grants – the primary source of financial aid for low-income students – are not awarded for programs shorter than 600 hours or 15 weeks. That leaves low-income students, who are often the ones seeking certificates, scrambling to pay out of pocket and schools looking for alternative funding. Schools may offer fewer courses because interested students cannot afford to pay.

Congress has considered bipartisan bills to expand Pell eligibility for short-term courses. Passage of the law would be a victory for Republicans who advocate for more labor market-related education and for Democrats who seek to expand access to education for low-income students. More importantly, it would help students acquire marketable skills and employers fill vacant positions.

“It is increasingly clear that most jobs require some degree of postsecondary education, and it has been difficult to develop viable alternative pathways to college for students who do not enroll in programs leading to a four-year degree without financial support. » said Martin West, dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Francis said Franklin Cummings Tech would offer more classes in construction-related fields like surveying or blueprint reading if they were Pell eligible. And she expects some people who earn short-term certificates to move on to other degrees. “We know that these types of measures push more people into higher education. » said François. “It’s just a question of will. Do we want to help more people become better educated or not? »

The biggest supporters of Pell’s expansion have been community colleges. At North Shore Community College, approximately 500 students are enrolled in short-term professional programs in fields such as health care and information technology. Jennifer James Price, the college’s assistant vice president of employer relations, said she works with local hospitals, community health centers and nursing homes, which are in desperate need of practical nurses, phlebotomists and other graduates of the program. To fund these programs, the school seeks grants, but these are unreliable, and tuition for a health care certificate can cost up to $3,000. (The state’s free community college program also does not apply to certificate courses.) “This does not create constant expectations for students or businesses on the North Shore, where classes take place at low cost all the time.” Price said.

Funding workforce training is proven to work. In fiscal years 2023 and 2024, Massachusetts established a $15 million state fund to finance workforce training in the most demanding fields at community colleges. According to a report from the Massachusetts Association of Community Colleges, 3,359 students completed these programs, the majority of them in the health care field, and 2,404 of these graduates (66%) found employment or were enrolled in continuing education within 90 days of completing the program. .

Bills introduced in Congress would authorize Pell Grants for students enrolled in programs of at least 150 hours, with guardrails to ensure that programs are high quality and meet the needs of employers.

Expanding Pell eligibility to short-term certificate programs would help students, schools and employers. Congress should resist the temptation to play politics and enact policy.

—The Boston Globe