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President
Barack Obama
College
Affordability
Hello,
everybody --
Michelle
and I know exactly how
tough it can be to pay for higher education. By the time we finished
paying
back the loans we took out to go to college and grad school, I was on
my way to
being a U.S. Senator.
I
believe that anyone who works
hard should have the same opportunities that our educations gave us.
That's
why, as President, I've made it a personal mission to make higher
education
more affordable -- and why I'm going to be visiting school campuses
later this
week.
Learn
more about why this is the
time to take action.
The
facts are clear. Over the past
three decades, the average tuition at a public four-year college has
more than
tripled. At the same time, many state governments are actually reducing
their
support for education, and many middle-class students are getting stuck
with
the tab. Today, the average student taking out loans to pay for
education
graduates with more than $26,000 in debt.
Just
tinkering around the edges
won't be enough: To create a better bargain for the middle class, we
have to
fundamentally rethink about how higher education is paid for in this
country.
We've got to shake up the current system.
That's
why, starting Thursday, I
will be embarking on a bus tour to offer my plan to make college more
affordable, tackle rising costs, and improve value for students and
their
families. My plan includes real reforms that would bring lasting
change. They
won't all be popular with everyone --including some who've made higher
education their business -- but it's past time that more of our
colleges work
better for the students they exist to serve.
Over
the past four and a half
years, we've worked to put college in reach for more students and their
families
through tax credits, improving access to financial aid, and new options
that
make it easier to repay those loans.
But
if we're going to keep the
doors of higher education open to everyone who works for it, we need to
do more
-- much more. And that's exactly what I'm going to be talking about
this week.
So
learn more here, then help to
spread the word: http://www.whitehouse.gov/share/college-affordability
Thanks,
President
Barack Obama
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