President Releases Additional College Cost Control Proposals

Prepared by: Harrison Wadsworth  (hwadsworth@wpllc.net)

Today, President Obama started a two-day bus tour of several college campuses in New York State and Pennsylvania and a high school in an effort publicize a framework for encouraging lower college costs and less student debt.  The Fact Sheet released by the White House is attached.  The link to the information on the White House website, part of the Administration’s economic initiatives, is here:  (click the Education tab). http://www.whitehouse.gov/a-better-bargain .

A new college rating system is a centerpiece of the proposals, and the idea of tying financial aid allocations to colleges’ ratings sounds similar to what the Administration has repeatedly proposed for campus-based aid programs.  Here is an excerpt from the Fact Sheet:

Tie Financial Aid to College Value:  To identify colleges for providing the best value and encourage all colleges to improve, President Obama is directing the Department of Education to develop and publish a new college ratings system that would be available for students and families before the 2015 college year. In the upcoming reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, the President will seek legislation allocating financial aid based upon these college ratings by 2018, once the ratings system is well established. Students can continue to choose whichever college they want, but taxpayer dollars will be steered toward high-performing colleges that provide the best value.

The Administration is also repeating its proposal to offer all student loan borrowers  “Pay as You Earn” – income based repayment where no more than 10 percent of income after basic expenses goes to student loan payments.