By In a recent speech, President Barack Obama unveiled a plan to change the way financial aid is distributed to universities.
According to the White House website, Obama’s plan is to establish a new college rating system in which schools will be ranked on criteria such as affordability and graduation rates.
Although some may applaud rating colleges on these criteria, some find Obama’s decision to tie federal financial aid to college ratings controversial.
“We want to rate them on who’s offering the best value, so students and taxpayers get a bigger bang for their buck,” Obama said in his speech.
In essence, a school that under-performs on Obama’s rating chart would possibly lose millions in financial aid.
We find the competition aspect of Obama’s new plan unsettling.
While we understand that Obama wants to promote excellence in higher education, much of his plan is flawed.
Comparing universities to each other on a master ranking system is a mistake.
Although all universities within the higher education system aspire for student success, the means by which they achieve it vary.
For instance, Harvard University and Cal State Long Beach are two completely different universities. The two have different graduation rates, average student loan debts and graduate salaries.
If CSULB hypothetically scored lower on Obama’s score card than Harvard, should its funding be reduced?
If his plan is to receive bipartisan support, Obama must ensure that smaller and less prestigious universities are not punished through the rating system.
Although much of Obama’s plan seems ill-advised, there is one aspect of it that we support.
Part of Obama’s higher education plan is to reform the way that student loan debt is repaid, and he’s proposed capping loan repayment at 10 percent of the borrower’s income.
This plan may help America’s growing student debt crisis.
According to the Washington Post, U.S. student loan debt has eclipsed credit card debt.
Ensuring that students graduate with a competitive degree and low amount of debt is key to success in the job market.
Although his plan may not completely fix higher education, we hope that Obama will continue to fight for students and their success.
