Fitzsimmons said the federal boost to funding also sends an encouraging message to students, that the government is concerned about the cost of colleges.

"It's nice to see it on the national agenda," Fitzsimmons said.

Over the past few years, legislation involving federal financial aid has mostly come in the form of tax incentives that provide relief to middle-class families financing an education, Fitzsimmons said.

"Previous tax benefits can be seen nationally as steering government dollars away from really low income families who did not have enough income to benefit from the incentives," he said.

With a new administration in the White House, Harvard financial aid officers said they are happy about the indications that cutting the costs of attending college will be a national priority.

"The increase in Pell Grants is wonderful public policy, and it's nice to see from my perspective, the government supporting need based aid," Donahue said. "Will it make a difference to Harvard students? No."

-Staff writer Nicole B. Usher can be reached at usher@fas.harvard.edu