The president will lay out his plan to lower college costs over the next two weeks, outlining a plan to push federal aid and money into the most affordable schools that graduate the most students, while capping loan repayments at 10%.
But with Congressional gridlock threatening even the most basic functions, like funding the government, there’s little indication whether some of these proposals will ever be more than ideas.
At the core of the president’s plan to lower the cost of higher education is tying federal aid to college performance, based on a number of factors including affordability and graduation rates.
“We’re going to start to rank universities, understand who’s doing a good job and who’s not, and ultimately start to move financial aid, move resources towards those universities who are very serious about this mission,” Sec. of Education Arne Duncan said on Morning Joe Thursday.
The country currently spends $150 billion dollars in grants and loans each year.
Siphoning that money into the schools that are doing the best job, Duncan said, will promote healthy competition between schools that seek to keep costs down, graduation rates up, and give the best product to the students.
“We want to incentivize the good actors and say to those who aren’t serious about containing costs, about graduate rates, ‘hey, you have to change your behavior!’” Duncan said.
Any legislation accomplishing this key part of the plan would require Congressional approval.









