[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ozW4JuJSto]
President Barack Obama has declared this week to be “American Education Week,” asking Americans to support schools and students through events and programs to create educational opportunities. It would be nice if the President practiced what he preached, especially for higher education.
It’s no secret that the higher education system is broken. The cost of tuition is going through the roof and an increasing number of college graduates are struggling to find jobs where they can make enough money to pay off the huge student loan debts they acquired while earning their degrees.
So what has President Obama done during his first term to alleviate these problems? Let’s recap.
Obama has long campaigned on his promise to make college more affordable, but the cost of a degree has only continued to increase under President Obama. The Associated Press reports that the cost of tuition rose 15 percent between 2008 and 2010. And while this increase is due to a number of factors, and extends into back into George W. Bush’ presidency, it is certainly not the sweeping reduction in costs Obama promised.
And while Obama has increased federal student aid through Pell Grants, this has actually had a negative effect on the cost of college.
The Heritage Foundation, a conservative policy research organization, reports that Pell Grant funding nearly doubled between 2008 and 2010. Yet, Heritage experts also say higher federal aid allows colleges and universities to increase their tuition rates, knowing students can just apply for more federal aid to compensate.
The financial struggles for college students are not resolved once they receive their degrees. Student loan debt passed the $1 trillion mark in March of this year. Paired with a youth unemployment rate of 12 percent, it is clear that recent college grads face a bleak future. Obama’s empty promises haven’t changed reality.
And what can we expect from the President in his second term?
President Obama is expected to focus more on higher education, which is a plus. However, Obama’s exact second-term education plan is still incredibly unclear. He promised to cut tuition increases in half over the next 10 years, but the President has not given any specific steps for how he realistically plans to achieve this goal.
American college students are tired of Obama’s fluffy rhetoric. They deserve more than the empty “hope” that Obama has promised them. Instead, young people need “change” and reforms to the higher education system what will make attending college more affordable. The President needs to understand that higher education reforms deserve his full attention throughout the next for years, not just not the week in November he needed young Americans’ votes.
