Over the past two decades, federal welfare policy has become
increasingly less supportive of concurrent college enrollment
and cash assistance receipt. Welfare recipients are
eligible for Pell and federal loan aid and under the pre-1996
Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program, recipients’
ability to attend college while receiving welfare was
relatively unconstrained.6 Attending a post-secondary institution
while on welfare was not uncommon – one study estimates
that 14% of all recipients attended college while receiving
AFDC benefits (London, 2006).