What students should know about the federal Workforce Pell Expansion 

The rapidly changing economic landscape is leading to new discussions about the value of a traditional four-year degree, and more interest in alternative options that focus on career-readiness. One of these pathways is the emergence of short-term programs in coding, cyber-security and information technology, often run by for-profit companies. This bootcamp cottage industry has attracted hundreds of millions of dollars in venture capital funding. The programs often lure students into alternative credit products like income-share agreements while promising well-paying jobs upon program completion. More recently, well-respected public and private non-profit universities are even partnering with these companies to recruit students in exchange for a share of the revenue.

These arrangements are likely to increase significantly with President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” signed into law. It includes a provision to fund “Workforce Pell,” which extends Pell Grant financial eligibility to short-term training programs for low-income students. While some guardrails were included in the legislation to ensure a program must be accredited to be eligible to receive the funds (which means unaccredited programs like the former Lambda School would be ineligible), there are still concerns about how this will play out. Under the new law, companies could still attempt to essentially license accreditation from established universities without going through the rigorous process to receive accreditation themselves.

A similar scenario just played out at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The university recently agreed to settle our class-action lawsuit accusing it of misleading students about a bootcamp that was actually run by an outside partner, Simplilearn. The case against Caltech and Simplilearn highlights the need for guardrails around partnerships between for-profit companies and universities, and the need for bootcamp providers and recruiters to accurately describe their roles to students and portray who is truly developing the curriculum and delivering the educational content. 

As students research future education opportunities, particularly programs that could be eligible for short-term Pell Grants, it’s important to ask questions before committing. 

• Ensure a program isn’t just tied to a higher education institution, but that it’s taught by faculty members of that college or university. 
• Ask a university directly about the partnership with an outside organization, and get information on what their role would be in the program.
• Research the outside organization. Search for news headlines about previous bootcamps and other universities who have previously had partnerships with it.
• Ask about the curriculum and how much of a role the university had in its development.
• Demand information about job placement statistics, and if it doesn’t seem clear-cut, ask how the organization arrived at those numbers.
• Request to speak to alumni of the short-term program to see if they were able to get a job. Ask for their feedback about the program, the faculty and the content they learned.

With short-term bootcamps gaining access to federal student aid and deepening their ties with respected universities, the potential for abuse will only grow unless we act now. Protecting students requires more than checking glossy marketing or relying on a familiar campus logo. It demands clear state rules to prevent deceptive partnerships, rigorous oversight of outcomes and real consequences for providers that mislead. By educating prospective students on what to ask and look for, we can help steer them to short-term programs that fulfill their promise of opening doors to opportunity rather than closing them with debt and disappointment.

For a deeper look at credentialing programs and how to protect students, watch the “Working Forward” episode here.

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About the author

Aaron Ament is a former federal higher education official and legal expert. He served in President Obama’s Administration as a Special Counsel for higher education issues and subsequently as Chief of Staff of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of the General Counsel. Prior to joining the federal government, he served as an Assistant Attorney General in Kentucky. Ament is a Northwestern University and Washington University School of Law alumnus.