16 percent increase comes as year-round grant is offered
Pell grant volume at Utah’s public colleges and universities has exceeded $222 million for the 2017-18 award year – an increase of 16 percent compared to the 2016-17 award year. Nearly one in three of the 184,000 students who attend Utah’s public higher education institutions received a Pell grant in 2017-18.
Seven of the eight USHE institutions saw a double-digit percent increase in Pell grant disbursements. Of those, Utah Valley University saw the largest increase at 23 percent. These increases are due, in part, to the year-round availability of Pell grants after a restoration of the offering in a spending bill by Congress, which went into effect July 1, 2017. Prior to this change, students could only receive Pell grants for the fall and spring semesters.
“We are pleased to see a significant increase in Utah college students applying for and receiving federal student aid after the implementation of a year-round Pell grant offering,” said Dave Buhler, Commissioner of Higher Education. “Through our outreach programs, our office is actively involved in helping more Utah students complete the federal student aid application, which is necessary to determine qualification for Pell grants—a crucial tool in helping students access higher education.”
A breakdown of Pell recipients and disbursements by Utah public higher education institution is below:
| Institution | 2017-18 Recipients | 2017-18 Disbursements | 2016-17 Recipients | 2016-17 Disbursements | % increase in $ |
| University of Utah | 7,454 | $31,557,112 | 7,124 | $27,479,452 | 15% |
| Utah State University | 9,540 | $41,523,689 | 9,453 | $35,731,280 | 16% |
| Weber State University | 7,373 | $29,405,575 | 7,073 | $24,734,013 | 19% |
| Southern Utah University | 3,035 | $13,442,783 | 3,023 | $12,265,630 | 10% |
| Snow College | 1,751 | $7,182,650 | 1,696 | $6,529,622 | 10% |
| Dixie State University | 3,977 | $16,071,056 | 3,803 | $14,190,358 | 13% |
| Utah Valley University | 13,310 | $54,199,138 | 12,496 | $44,168,752 | 23% |
| Salt Lake Community College | 9,026 | $29,241,089 | 8,963 | $26,955,093 | 8% |
| USHE Total | 55,466 | $222,623,092 | 53,631 | $192,054,200 | 16% |
Read more about what the Utah System of Higher Education is doing to increase completion of the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid).
