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This appendix volume supplements report NCEE 2025-005r, describing the effects of two experimental Pell Grant expansions: the first allowed income-eligible students with a bachelor's degree to obtain this form of federal financial aid for short-term occupational training programs and the second allowed income-eligible students to obtain this aid for very short-term programs lasting as little as eight weeks. The report updated earlier results from a rigorous evaluation of the experiments conducted by the U.S. Department of Education's (ED's) Institute of Education Sciences, adding new information about the experiments' effects on employment and earnings outcomes. This appendix volume similarly updates the evaluation's previous published appendix to detail the steps taken to assess these effects. The volume first describes the Pell Grant experiments as overseen by ED's Office of Federal Student Aid, including information about the schools offering the experimental Pell Grants. The next sections document how the study was conducted, including the research questions asked and the approach used to answer the research questions, additional details supporting the key findings of the study, and additional analyses to assess the sensitivity of the key findings.

Pell Grants are the cornerstone of federal financial aid for students with low income who are enrolled in postsecondary education. Currently, these grants are available only to those who seek an initial undergraduate degree or credential requiring at least a typical semester of instruction. Because these rules may restrict access to programs providing skills needed for new or better jobs, in 2011 the U.S. Department of Education (ED) began pilots of two experimental expansions to Pell Grant eligibility. The first experiment allowed income-eligible students with a bachelor's degree to obtain Pell Grants for short-term occupational training programs. The second experiment allowed income-eligible students to obtain Pell Grants for very short-term programs lasting as little as eight weeks. This report updates earlier results from a rigorous evaluation of the experiments conducted by ED's Institute of Education Sciences (IES), adding new information about the experiments' impacts on labor market success. This fuller picture could help Congress as it considers legislation to make Pell Grants for short-term occupational training permanent policy.