Advocate for sufficient funding to sustain the value of Pell Grant awards\nby ensuring an appropriations base of\n$4,860 given the escalating demand for awards. This amount will ensure the path of predictable and continuous growth laid out by President Obama as realized through the passage of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act. In the 2010-2011 academic year, AASCU institutions enrolled over 1.4 million Pell Grant recipients who received more than $5.6 billion in Pell Grant funds. The 2011-2012 maximum Pell Grant award ($5,550) covers approximately 33 percent of the 2011-12 in-state cost of attendance at public four-year institutions ($17,131) and approximately 67 percent of in-state tuition and fees ($8,244).

◆ Focus any restructuring of Pell Grant Program eligibility, in large measure, on income, since the program is fundamentally a financially-based access program.

Should it be necessary to find savings from the Pell Grant Program, prioritize funding for the neediest individuals, and focus changes in a manner that will have minimal impact on average award size and number of recipients.

■ Support continued funding for the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant Program (FSEOG), Federal Work-Study Program (FWS) and Perkins Loan Program.

Ensure that the Department of Education delivers high-quality service through the Direct Loan program process, especially with regard to adequate and timely information, early outreach to delinquent borrowers and more accommodating recovery efforts for borrowers in default.

Encourage the Department of Education to promptly contact delinquent borrowers in the Direct Loan Program, as well as borrowers whose loans were directly or indirectly purchased by the federal government, to avoid default. The department should put these borrowers in an appropriate repayment