Dive Summary:
- President Barack Obama is promising new policies to help families and students confront the financial challenges of attending college.
- The president cited statistics showing that average tuition at four-year colleges has tripled in 30 years and that students take on an average $26,000 in debt, though some economists cautioned these statistics were overly dire.
- Aides said Obama would talk about his plans beyond what he announced in his State of the Union Address in a series of speeches and town hall meetings at universities.
From the article:
... Several said they were hard-pressed to think of fundamental ways that the president could reshape the college financial aid system without the cooperation of Congress, which has been fleeting during his tenure. Student loan rates have been a particular source of political friction. “It seems very unlikely that he’s going to be able to do anything to change the underlying fundamentals that are driving the costs of college,” said Judy Scott-Clayton, a professor of economics and education at Teachers College at Columbia University. “I’m very curious to see what they will do.” ...
