Union Plus Free Degrees are Dead

[ss20ts]

To me, the whole argument by the Dept of Education is a bit misguided. As I understand it, EGCC (and the universities offering bachelors through Union Plus Free College) are in trouble for using Pell Grant dollars to pay for the cost of education of non-Pell recipients. But, if I get a Pell grant and use at at a college, particularly if I use it at an out of state community college, the money the college receives from the Fed Gov’t might well exceed the cost of education. The college will then use the money toward operating expenses/the general fund of the college. So, EGCC is in trouble because they are using “extra” funds to help pay for the cost of education of SOME students and not applying it generally to help ALL students?  I’m not saying that this might not be a violation of law, but if it is, the law seems a big misguided to me.

If a grant exceeds the cost of tuition and fees, the student receives those funds as a refund. The school sends a check or an electronic transfer if you have that set up. The school doesn't get to keep the excess funds. I've received refunds from grants in the past.