File this under opportunity wasted.
Thousands of Michigan residents with federal college tuition grants didn't attend classes in the past year, David Jesse reports on Page One of the Detroit Free Press. Those absences force schools to repay millions of dollars to the government.
At Henry Ford Community College, $4.1 million -- about 10 percent of the money the college received in Pell Grants -- needs to be paid back to the U.S. Department of Education this year, a move that will likely contribute to a tuition increase at the Dearborn school. . . .
Roughly 1,000 Oakland Community College students -- out of the nearly 28,000 students at OCC's five campuses -- got checks last fall with excess money from their Pell Grants but didn't show up for classes. That means OCC is on the hook for $700,000 from last semester alone.
Experts say the problem of "Pell jumpers" or "Pell runners" is a national situation that's getting worse.
The fraud is particularly pronounced at community colleges because of their lower tuition rates. A student can sign up for a full load of classes for as little as $700 per semester at some Michigan community colleges and then pocket the leftovers from the $2,750 maximum grant. . . .
Pell Grants, which max out at $5,500 per year, are available to low- and mid-income residents and can be used for tuition and other costs, including rent, groceries and transportation. If a student receives a Pell Grant and disappears with the money, the college or university is on the hook to repay both the tuition costs and the rest of the money given to the student.
It's tough for colleges to recover the money from dropouts, according to Jesse.
Schools bill them and can send bill collectors their way, but usually to no avail.
Students who take off with the grants can't register at the same college for more classes later, but that doesn't stop them from going to a different college and pulling the same trick.
