Obama's Plan for Affordable College

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Created on Wednesday, 18 February 2015 10:20

Written by Taylor Young

NORTHEAST KINGDOM- If President Obama’s Community College Plan is passed, the Community College of Vermont could see an increase in enrollment.  

   
In last month's State of the Union Address, Obama described a plan that would eliminate college tuition for students.

There are four main goals to the plan according to the White Houses website.Those goals are: to help middle class families to afford the raising costs of getting a higher education, strengthen community colleges, keep the costs down, and to improve the transparency and accountability of our own government.

For the first time ever, college debt has surpassed credit card debt by over $26,000. The Higher Education plan would cut that debt drastically by making the first two years of community college free.

With the focus being on community colleges, it would strengthen the name and reputation of the thousand or so community colleges around the country. It's believed that the stronger name, reputation, and affordability would all point straight to a rise in enrollment.

This plan would cost the Federal Government roughly $60 billion over a span of ten years, and that would cover 75% of all tuition costs. With the plan still in the works, the question of where the money is coming from is still in the air. 

With the Federal Governement only paying three quarters of the cost, each individual state will be held accountable to pull the other quarter, which could mean higher taxes for tax payers.