DeKALB | President Bush proposed last week what would be the largest single-year boost to the Pell Grant in more than 30 years, according to Margaret Spellings, U.S. Secretary of Education.

Spellings annouced Bush’s plan to drastically increase the Pell Grant last week in a written statement. If this proposal passes, it will affect many students in the country, including NIU students.

Bush plans by next year to increase the maximum Pell Grant by almost 14 percent, setting the maximum grant at $4,600. Bush’s plan also calls for a 33 percent increase over the next five years.

“This is real money that will help more low-income students achieve the dream of a college education,” Spellings said.

This news pleases many students eligible for the Pell Grant, such as Casey Wickum, a freshman computer science major.

“I think the increase in the Pell Grant will allow more students to easily meet the financial needs of the institution,” he said.

The Pell Grant is a government-issued award for students from lower-income families that do not need to be repaid. There are currently around five million students receiving this grant to help pay for school. To be eligible for the Pell Grant, a student must be an undergraduate or vocational student, have filed the Federal Application for Federal Student Aid (FASFA), and have an Expected Family Contribution of $3,850 or lower.

Since the Pell Grant’s last increase in 2002, the maximum award has been $4,050. With inflation and increased costs, this amount covers about a third of the average student’s bills, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education.

To fund the Pell Grant increase, Bush plans to get rid of the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG) program and Perkins Loan while also lowering limits to subsidized lender loans.

April Coppelman, a freshman accounting major, was angered at the news that she may not be receiving the Perkins Loan next year.

“The government needs to think of a better way to get the money for the Pell Grant,” she said.

There are approximately 5,000 students at NIU that currently receive the Pell Grant, according to NIU financial aid officials. With this increase, officials also expect that more students may become eligible for the grant.

Linda Dersch, senior assistant director of the Student Financial Aid Office, commented on how this increase would have both positive and negative effects. Dersch said the increase is a positive one because the grant amount has remained the same over the years, while prices have since increased.

The negatives include that Bush proposes to cut to other aid programs which would result in less need-based aid for the students that receive the SEOG, Perkins Loan and subsidized lender loans. The amount they would receive from these programs would actually be more than if they would receive the increase from the Pell Grant.

Many are both encouraged and concerned about these changes and how it will affect students’ aid that they receive annually.

“We are encouraged to see the proposal for increasing the amount of the Federal Pell Grant since it has not been increased for several years,” she said, “but would like to see the increased funded another way than by eliminating other financial aid programs.”