By Joshua Phelps
The Scene staff
U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt visited the Forest Park campus on May 3 to talk about Pell Grants, which will be available to summer students for the first time in seven years.
The grants were available year-round to qualified students from 2009 to 2011, then the federal government cut funding, making them available only for fall and spring semesters.
Funding was restored, effective last July 1, but that was too late for students enrolling in classes during the summer of 2017.
“130,000 Missourians will get a Pell Grant this year,” Blunt said. “We think 20,000 more Missourians will be in school this summer than would have been in school without a Pell Grant.”
Blunt (R-Missouri) was speaking in the Highlander Lounge to a group of about 30 people, including administrators, faculty, staff, students and reporters.
St. Louis Community College Chancellor Jeff Pittman and Forest Park Interim Provost Julie Fickas also gave him a tour of the construction site for the new Center for Nursing and Health Sciences on campus, but it was cut short due to high winds and rain.
“(We’re) blessed to have Roy Blunt in Washington, D.C., with all the things that he does to make Missouri a better place for the individuals that live here,” Pittman said during his introduction.
After Blunt’s prepared comments, reporters asked him about the controversy surrounding Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens, who has been charged with felony invasion of privacy and computer data tampering. Blunt declined to comment.
The senator wanted to focus on Pell Grants, which he said essentially make two years of college free for students who qualify. Pittman called the return of year-round grants a “win-win.”
“All the research shows that continuing education, not taking that break between spring and fall, will increase the persistence in completion rates,” he said.
Students can receive up to $2,960 in Pell Grant funds for summer semester, depending on their financial situation and expected family contribution, according to Kristin Thomas, lead financial aid counselor at Forest Park.
“As long as they qualify based on the FAFSA, they have to enroll in six credit hours for the summer to take advantage of year-round Pell,” she said.
Fickas became interim provost in mid-April, replacing former Provost Larry Johnson, who will become president of Phoenix College in Arizona this summer.
After Blunt’s visit, Fickas stressed the importance of getting the word out to Forest Park students who may need help paying for summer classes.
“I’m excited (about funding being restored),” she said. “It was such a disappointment when it was taken away from our students.”
Blunt estimated that a million more students in the United States will attend college this summer because of year-round Pell Grants, allowing many to complete their degrees faster and helping to offset tuition increases.
“If you can’t afford to go to college, and you meet the criteria that shows you can’t afford to go to college, that’s what the Pell Grant is all about,” he said.