Spring Break
President Obama must keep promise, lower college costs
Brian Carroll
Issue date: 1/27/09 Section: Commentary
A recent article in The New York Times commented that college students are paying for an increasing amount of their own costs of higher education. As colleges are raising tuition and increasing fees to negate the decrease in state and federal assistance, private loans have continued to be the fastest-growing method of borrowing (totaling more than $17 billion dollars in the 2007 academic year). During the campaign season, however, President Obama acknowledged the need for more federal assistance to put college within reach of more Americans across the country. Yet it is realistic to say that his plans to limit or cap college costs might be hindered by the current economic times.
Most of the state colleges decrying a decrease in aid are marketing higher tuition and increased fees as a permanent fix to decreased state and federal assistance. Moreover, families here in Connecticut and across the nation are increasingly looking towards the federal government for assistance. President Obama, while running as a candidate, campaigned to reverse the trend of increasing college costs by making sure that a college education is affordable and within the reach of every American by proposing a American Opportunity Tax Credit that would cover the first $4,000 dollars of a college education and promising to simplify the application process for financial aid. President Obama also supported an increase in the Pell Grant. Federal budget legislation passed in early 2006 cut the federal financial aid budget by $12.5 billion dollars; therefore the maximum award available to students has been frozen at $4,050. President Obama's campaign called for increasing the maximum Pell Grant awarded to students from the current $4,050 to a new maximum of $5,100 and later adjusting this payment with inflation each and every year.
The current Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is five pages - making it longer and more involved than many federal tax returns. The same New York Times article commented that spending on instruction declined from 2002 to 2005 and only recently increased in 2006, but the increase did not make up for earlier reductions by state governments. Tuition increased faster than spending on education, with students at public institutions taking on the biggest increases, as states contributed less per year.
Most of the state colleges decrying a decrease in aid are marketing higher tuition and increased fees as a permanent fix to decreased state and federal assistance. Moreover, families here in Connecticut and across the nation are increasingly looking towards the federal government for assistance. President Obama, while running as a candidate, campaigned to reverse the trend of increasing college costs by making sure that a college education is affordable and within the reach of every American by proposing a American Opportunity Tax Credit that would cover the first $4,000 dollars of a college education and promising to simplify the application process for financial aid. President Obama also supported an increase in the Pell Grant. Federal budget legislation passed in early 2006 cut the federal financial aid budget by $12.5 billion dollars; therefore the maximum award available to students has been frozen at $4,050. President Obama's campaign called for increasing the maximum Pell Grant awarded to students from the current $4,050 to a new maximum of $5,100 and later adjusting this payment with inflation each and every year.
The current Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is five pages - making it longer and more involved than many federal tax returns. The same New York Times article commented that spending on instruction declined from 2002 to 2005 and only recently increased in 2006, but the increase did not make up for earlier reductions by state governments. Tuition increased faster than spending on education, with students at public institutions taking on the biggest increases, as states contributed less per year.
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