Obama, Biden to improve college graduate rate over ten years
Kurt Oberreither
-News Editor-
Vice President Joe Biden addressed college journalists across the country to talk about President Barack Obama’s goal for the United States to lead the world in college graduation rates by 2020.
In his Jan. 24 State of the Union address, the President stressed how important it is that states and colleges do their part to make college more affordable.
Biden said it is an “economic necessity” that the country reaches the graduation goal over the next 10 years as college is a prerequisite to building a stable workforce.
“Any country that can out-educate us is going to out-compete us,” Biden said. “This is about the national interest, it’s about the bargain of the middle class, it’s about the American dream [and] it’s about the dignity of your parents and the opportunity for all of you.”
The administration plans to invest $7 billion more in Perkins loans and reform the distribution of federal campus-based aid, rewarding schools that maintain affordable tuition costs.
This summer, student loan interest rates are set to double but the President is asking Congress to maintain the current rate for a year; he also wants to make the American Opportunity Tax Credit permanent and double the number of work-study jobs.
“We think that when you graduate, you shouldn’t have to graduate buried in debt,” Biden said. “If you’re at a state university, you graduate [in] four years. The expectation is that you’re going to get your diploma.”
The plans also include changes to help students make more informed decisions when choosing a college. This “scorecard” will include costs, graduation rates and potential earnings.
Furthermore, the Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said the department would like to improve communication between two and four-year colleges.
Biden said the states will be encouraged to create programs like A+ that provide students a quality, cheap education at a community college.
Biden said he and his wife – who is an English professor at Northern Virginia Community College – would not have achieved what they have without a good education and help along the way. He said if community colleges were available during his time he would have taken advantage of the opportunity.
“The single best kept secret, as my wife would say, in America are our community colleges,” Biden said.
