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U.S. Department of Education Selects Bard College to Participate in Pell Grant Pilot

The U.S. Department of Education recently selected Bard College as a participant in a federal pilot program that gives high school students taking college courses access to Federal Pell Grants. Bard’s participation will focus on its Early College High School in Newark, NJ. For the first time, high school students from low-income families will have the opportunity to access Federal Pell Grants to take college courses through dual enrollment.

“Dual enrollment programs are powerful ways to introduce rigorous coursework to students and show these students that they are smart enough, talented enough, and prepared enough to tackle higher education. Dual enrollment programs are game-changers for all students – especially those are first-generation or from low-income families,” said Education Under Secretary Ted Mitchell. “Through this experiment, we hope to learn how the availability of Pell Grants affects student participation and success in dual enrollment programs.”

Bard College is a pioneer in early college education, which falls under the umbrella of dual enrollment, as Bard founded one of the first early college high schools in the nation, Bard High School Early College, in New York City (2001). Bard’s network of early colleges now includes seven locations in five states: dual-degree campuses in New York (Manhattan and Queens); Newark, NJ; Cleveland, OH; and Baltimore, MD; and programs in New Orleans, LA, and the Harlem Children’s Zone in New York City.

 Read more about this program