Breaking a budget stalemate, Congress has agreed on a fiscal 2012 funding bill that would preserve the maximum Pell Grant at $5,550 but make changes in eligibility that may reduce or eliminate aid to thousands of students.

The bill averts a feared government shutdown one week before Christmas, funding dozens of federal education programs that had operated with only temporary funds since the Oct. 1 start of the new fiscal year.

“This funding bill is not perfect. It is a compromise,” said Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., the senior Democrat on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

The neediest college students won one critical fight when lawmakers agreed to maintain the current maximum Pell of $5,550. Earlier this year, some budget cutters had sought reductions of up to $2,000 in the top grant along with eligibility changes.

While the maximum grant stays the same, however, the eligibility changes could affect 100,000 students, says The Institute for College Access and Success (TICAS), which analyzes student aid and debt levels. The institute said many of these changes “would disproportionately harm African-American students and transfer students, including those near graduation.”

Among other provisions, the changes would limit to 12 semesters the length of time a student could receive a Pell Grant. Under existing law, students can receive aid up to 18 semesters. TICAS was particularly concerned that the change would take effect right away.

“An immediate retroactive time limit is like changing the rules in the middle of a game and then scoring the entire game based on the new rules,” said Pauline Abernathy, TICAS vice president.

The new policy also would not take into account time spent in required remedial courses, which slow the college progress of many underprepared students and those from high-poverty high schools. About 40 percent of Pell Grant recipients take remedial courses, the institute said.