Big news! The Obama administration has a plan to expand college opportunity for all.
They are going to hold a summit.
Wait, that’s it?
The White House sent out a news release Wednesday outlining its so-called plan and touting this big achievement.
“Expanding opportunity for more students to enroll and succeed in college, especially low-income and underrepresented students, is vital to building a strong economy and a strong middle class,” the release stated. “The President and First Lady are committed to doing more in partnership with colleges and universities, business leaders, and nonprofits to support students across the country to help our nation reach its goal of leading the world in college attainment.”
This lofty goal might sound wonderful to public relations people on paper, but the administration’s “plan” ignores the primary reason people aren’t going to college — the high cost.
The ever-growing cost of higher education is by far the most cited reason for not attending any form of higher education and Obama’s plan to focus on “private and public sector commitments” means nothing if it doesn’t address the root of the problem.
The only mention of cost at all in the new White House college opportunity initiative comes in the form of support for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
“In March, the President and First Lady launched a new ‘FAFSA Completion Initiative’ to help schools identify which students have completed their forms and target efforts to increase completion. FAFSA completion is an important step toward college enrollment,” the release stated.
While the federal student aid is the only way a lot of people can go to school, this initiative focuses on a symptom, not the real problem.
Encouraging more people to take out student loans as a way to finance their future will only add to the more than $1 trillion in student loan debt already plaguing Americans. A new study has also shown that this debt impacts people for decades, harming their physical and financial well-being, as well as being detrimental to finding a sense of purpose in life.
This lifelong decision to go into voluntary debt has made people question if college is always worth it. And while current studies do show that people with college degrees have higher incomes, if costs and loan debt continue to rise, this might not be the case much longer.
Until something is done to bring costs for higher education down, college opportunity will not be available to all.
Mr. President, feel free to pat yourself on the back for a “summit” well done, but real change on this topic won’t come in the form of a self-congratulatory meeting.
