President George W. Bush's Pell Grant aid, announced earlier this month, will provide more opportunities for students to attend the University of Wisconsin-Marathon County. Pell Grants are awarded annually and are given to students based on economic need. Pell Grants differ from other federal funds because they do not require the student to pay money back. Bush's recent proposal would increase Pell Grant funding by 14 percent, raising the top-level award to $4,600 in 2008 and to $5,400 by 2012. Kristin Rusch, director of financial aid at UWMC, said a third of the students at the university rely on Pell Grants to pay tuition. Students who use Pell Grants, Rusch added, are oftentimes the first in their families to attend college. "This is [the students'] only ticket to college," Rusch said. "Their parents never had the opportunity or the resources to go to college, and this is their foot in the door." Nolan Beck, associate dean and director of student services at UWMC, said the school has a high population of students who are first-generation Americans and rely on the Pell Grants for their education in the United States. "They have the want and the desire to be here and do well," Beck said. "The more money invested in education, the better off a society is." With the additional money dedicated to the need-based grants, both Beck and Rusch said the extra funds will probably be aimed at middle-class families who would not normally qualify for Pell Grants. Students who demonstrate strong academic records but need additional financial support, Beck said, will also benefit from the funding increase. Rusch said she could relate to students coming from middle-class families across the state who do not qualify for government grants. But Rusch added sometimes these families still need financial assistance to afford college. Rusch suggested the additional funding from Bush's proposal be used toward students who need aid but do not qualify for Pell Grants. "I would say that I am a middle-class person and I have five children — putting them all through college is going to be a huge challenge," Beck said. "I make enough money to not qualify for Pell Grants, but now I have to work twice as hard to make sure my kids don't end up with huge amounts of debt." According to the Wausau Daily Herald, Bush also proposed that Pell recipients receive additional funding if they prove strong academic records — in the form of Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate classes — under a new plan called the academic competitiveness grant. Under this proposal, the Pell students may receive up to an additional $1,300 for their first two years of college. Rusch and Beck said they support the benefits of the Pell grants and added the grants should continue to expand financial aid to all students.