The Pell Grant has been a flagship federal college education funding program for years. A Pell Grant, unlike a guaranteed federal student loan, is outright aid that doesn’t require a dime of repayment. Pell Grant awards have helped literally tens of thousands of Americans to receive higher educations that they may not have otherwise been able to afford.

Pell Grants are awarded on the basis of the student’s financial needs after the calculation of an “expected family contribution”, or EFC. Basically, the government determines how much a family should be willing to pay toward the student’s education and subtracts that some from the maximum Pell Grant award level.

Unlike student loans, which are eventually repaid, the “free” nature of Pell Grant money would make the program seem vulnerable to political pressures in an era where entitlements are scrutinized and spending is closely watched. Either due to its value or the political risks associated with trimming the program, however, the grants find a way to survive through every legislative session.

Even though Congress was in a cost-cutting mood when creating the most recent spending bill, the Pell Grant program escaped unscathed. In fact, the award levels for 2009 are actually marginally higher in both versions of the spending bill than those for 2008.

The increase will amount to less than $200 even under the most optimistic scenario and that bump probably doesn’t even allow the awards to keep up with constantly climbing tuition rates.

That means the increases aren’t as high as some would have liked. Angela Peoples, speaking as the Legislative Director for the United States Student Association expressed the cautiously optimistic perspective many have toward the grant program’s immediate future, stating “We would have liked to see more increases, but we appreciate the levels recommended so far.”

The award level still falls short of $5,000. That makes a Pell a great tool in making college more affordable, but something far short of a complete answer in terms of putting a higher education in reach of everyone.

That’s why experts like Tally Hart, the Financial Aid Director at The Ohio State University would like to see even bigger increases. Hart remarked, “”While I’d love to say ‘double it,’ I think that’s probably unrealistic. I think more realistic would be increases in the $2,000 to $3,000 range for the largest Pell Grant recipients.”

Those favoring increases in Pell Grants may have a new friend in Washington. Although there’s no indication that Barack Obama would double Pells in the way Hart might like, there’s little doubt that he’d be amenable to considering increases.

Obama’s first major bill as a Senator, in fact, was a 2005 measure that aimed to increase Pell Grant awards. While on the Presidential campaign trail, Obama advocated “eliminating subsidies to lenders and pushing all borrowing into the direct lending program. He said that eliminating subsidies would allow for a significant boost in support for Pell Grants.”

Obviously, our economy has undergone some significant changes since the Democratic primaries and there will undoubtedly be a variety of policy areas that Obama and his Administration will address differently than they may have originally planned. Nonetheless, it appears as though the Pell Grant program will remain a functioning component of the federal student aid regime and there’s a great deal of evidence to support the prediction that the program will actually be strengthened and enlarged.

If you’re planning to enroll in college and are able to demonstrate financial need, you don’t need to worry too much about the longevity of the Pell Grant. All indicators point toward maintaining the policy through 2009 and well beyond.