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.