By Libby A. Nelson, Inside Higher Ed
A proposed change that would lead to smaller Pell Grants for some students enrolled in online classes was intended to prevent financial aid fraud. But advocates for distance education fear it’s the first in a possible series of unintended consequences, as the Education Department prepares to take steps to crack down on fraud in negotiated rule-making hearings later this year. Deep in the Senate appropriations bill for the Education Department for the 2013 fiscal year was a provision that would change how Pell Grants are allocated to students in online programs. For those students, Pell Grants would cover only tuition, fees, books and supplies — not room and board, as they currently do.
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