College students across America are leaving their institutions with tens of thousands of dollars in debt and not always with a full-time job to begin paying off those loans.
President Barack Obama said during a speech at the University of Michigan Friday he plans to make college education more accessible, among his plans for economic mobility and fairness.
While the efforts to make college education more affordable are important for those just entering college, it does little to help those already in college or who have already graduated.
Obama proposes a new $1 billion Race to the Top competition, which would reward states that keep college tuition down.
In the past, he has helped college students by increasing Pell Grants and helping students consolidate loans and lower monthly payments. Obama also plans to increase Perkins loans from $1 billion to $8 billion to overhaul the way campus-based student aid is given out.
His plan, if elected again, would certainly help incoming college freshmen with the rising costs of tuition.
But, with the Race to the Top competition, institutions will receive less federal funding if they choose to raise tuition prices.
"We are putting colleges on notice – you can't keep, you can't assume that you'll just jack up tuition every single year," Obama said Friday. "If you can't stop tuition from going up, then the funding you get from taxpayers each year will go down.
We should push colleges to do better. We should hold them accountable if they don't."
A college education should be available to those who show the effort to want it. Student loans are available for those who can't afford it, but what student can afford it coming out of high school? Loans become the only answer for students who don't receive scholarships but still want a degree.
While Obama's plan won't help graduates struggling to repay loans, his groundwork should lead to more improvements on the costs of higher education to make it easier for future students.