Good news for future students. Obama is attempting to force colleges to reduce college tuition increases so that college remains affordable for everyone. In a speech Obama made on Friday in Michigan Obama announced that schools will also be held to new performance standards. If students can’t find jobs after college, future students that attend that school will not have as much access to student loans. Thereby decreasing the revenue the schools can generate.
“Obama said his administration is addressing the issue of college affordability by increasing federal student aid. He called for Congress to stop the interest rates on student loans from rising, extend the tuition tax cut and double work-study jobs in the next five years. ”
And according to the Michigan Daily, there’s a chance that Michigan’s state funding for higher education in the coming year might be tied to performance metrics like graduation and retention rates.
But critics of Race To The Top say it would hurt higher education the same way it’s hurt elementary education. Nina Chacker, a teacher in Detroit Public Schools and member of Occupy Detroit’s Direct Action committee, said policies that tie school funding to performance only “widen the achievement gap.”
