Photo: (Getty Images)
The amount of college loans has now exceeded the amount of credit card debt in America, and tuition only keeps increasing! The rising cost of college has been hurting many current students and recent grads, and Obama feels your pain. In last week’s State of the Union address, President Obama made the rising cost of college a key focus. While youth continue to partake in Occupy Wall Street protests that heavily denounce rising college costs, college officials are nervous about how exactly they’re going to fit into Obama’s vision.
Obama is backing up his rhetoric with some solid plans to cut future costs, as well as to keep already incurred costs under control by urging congress to prevent student loan interest rates from doubling in July. The plans he rolled out are designed to encourage colleges to keep it cheap by running more efficiently and offering more sustainable aid (such as work study jobs). In exchange for “doing their fair share” to keep their school affordable, Obama will reward them with federal aid and tax breaks. Obama is also going to run a competition (with $1 billion in prize money up for grabs!) to encourage states to get in on the action and do their part to keep tuition low.
+ WATCH: President Barack Obama explains his college affordability plan
Some officials aren’t fans of Obama’s new policies. It’s been a rough few years for both states and colleges, and many have been forced to make steep budget cuts. Would Obama’s plan put even more of a strain on their budgets? Tightening their belts could mean bigger classes, less aid, and scaling back on full-time faculty. Illinois State’s President Al Bowman feels uneasy about the plan, and points out “You could hire mostly part-time, adjunct faculty. You could teach in much larger lecture halls, but the things that would allow you achieve the greatest levels of efficiency would dilute the product and would make it something I wouldn’t be willing to be part of.”
+ TELL US! What do you think? Will limiting funds to schools who increase fees put the pressure on colleges to find innovative solutions? Tweet us at @MTVact on Twitter, write on our Facebook wall, or let us know in the comments.
actTAKE ACTION!
Get Your College Dollars
Start using "My College Dollars" and enter to win tickets to the VMAs and a $500 gift card for college, or one of 25 other gift cards!
