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PHEAA Grant Program Provides $50 Million in Student Aid Assistance to Adult Students

Posted on: Monday, 15 August 2005, 12:00 CDT

HARRISBURG, Pa., Aug. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- PHEAA announced today that it will fund its newly established Workforce Advancement Grant for Education (WAGE) Program with $10 million annually for the next five years from its business earnings - at no cost to taxpayers.

The program was established after studies found that the fastest growing demographic among college students is adult learners. Only one in six undergraduates is a typical 18-year-old who enrolls at a residential campus, stays for four years and graduates with a baccalaureate degree. Adult students are rapidly becoming the new majority on college campuses; however, many student aid programs are not available to them.

The benefits of the WAGE Program are two-fold. It will allow adult students in Pennsylvania to further their education and achieve the skills, gain certificates and earn degrees necessary to succeed in the job market. It will also create a highly trained and competitive workforce across the Commonwealth.

"Traditionally, the student aid industry focuses on those students who have just graduated from high school and are going on to a postsecondary school," said Representative Elinor Z. Taylor, Chairman of the PHEAA Board of Directors. "Our mission is to provide affordable access to education to anyone who wants to achieve it. That includes an increasing number of adults who are already out in the workforce. In many cases, they need student aid just as much as their younger classmates."

The funds will assist Pennsylvania postsecondary institutions in providing adult learners with the necessary resources to pursue careers across selected academic disciplines. The recipient institutions will be required to use WAGE funds for enrollment, retention, completion of certificates or degrees, or to eliminate affordability barriers for adult students.

Institutions' completed applications must be received by PHEAA no later than August 31, 2005 in order to receive WAGE Program funds for the 2005-06 academic year and the Summer 2006 term.

The WAGE Program was established as part of AES/PHEAA's commitment to provide more than $100 million in public service benefits to assist Pennsylvania residents this year, totaling $9 billion by 2009.

For further information on the WAGE Program or to find institution eligibility requirements, please call 800-692-7392.

About American Education Services and PHEAA

The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency was created in 1963 as an independent public corporation to provide students and their families with affordable access to higher education.

In order to fulfill our public service mission, we've grown into a competitive national financial aid services organization with $57.5 billion in assets under management serving millions of students and thousands of schools through our guaranty, servicing, grant and financial aid processing systems. Doing business throughout the nation as American Education Services (AES), the funds generated from our extensive operations are used to improve education opportunities and lower the cost of attendance for Pennsylvania students while streamlining the entire process for the higher education community.

As a self-funded organization with operations similar to a not-for-profit business, AES/PHEAA provides more than $120 million annually in public service benefits to Pennsylvania families -- including the nation's lowest-cost student loans and powerful Internet-based solutions -- at no cost to taxpayers.

For more information, please visit our Website at http://www.pheaa.org/.

Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency

CONTACT: Keith New, +1-717-720-2509, knew@aesSuccess.org, or NicoleElbertson, +1-717-720-2509, nelberts@aesSuccess.org, both of AmericanEducation Services

Web site: http://www.pheaa.org/

Source: PRNewswire

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