Why Implementation Matters: Ensuring Quality in the New Workforce Pell Program

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act created a new Workforce Pell program, which opens up Pell Grant eligibility to short-term job training programs that have traditionally been excluded from federal higher education funding, including non-credit programs. This expansion has the potential to transform economic mobility for low-income learners and help states meet their economic and workforce goals, but only with strong implementation. Without thoughtful design and oversight, students could be left with poor outcomes and little opportunity for advancement.

This webinar will bring together experts from across higher education and workforce sectors to discuss why implementation matters, what quality and accountability should look like, and how states and institutions can prepare. Panelists will share insights on:

• Key implementation challenges, including definition ambiguities, approval processes, and data limitations.
• What implementation success looks like: how intentional design can help scale a system that supports equitable access, stacking into credentials, and clear labor-market alignment.
• The role of institutions and workforce stakeholders in ensuring programs lead to meaningful credentials and good jobs.

If you’re a policymaker, practitioner, funder, or advocate, this discussion will provide a clear sense of why and how implementation should be front and center for Workforce Pell to fulfill its promise.

Join us to explore what it will take for Workforce Pell to live up to its promise—and how implementation can turn policy into real progress for students and communities.

Panelists:

Tracy Hartzler, President, Central New Mexico Community College

Ben Cannon, Executive Director, Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission

Katie McClelland, Director, Minnesota Governor’s Workforce Development Board

Aaron Thompson, President, Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education