Pitt’s recently announced plan to match Pell grants starting this fall may be a first for U.S. higher education institutions.
Megan Coval, vice president of policy and federal relations for the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, said she’s not heard of any similar program within the 3,000 colleges and universities her organization represents.
Chancellor Patrick Gallagher said the idea for the matching program — part of the new Pitt Success model — grew out of the strategic plan’s focus on access and affordability as a primary approach to achieving academic excellence at Pitt. But he said, it received a “breath of fresh air” when Provost Ann Cudd joined the University last fall and made access and affordability one of her top priorities.