Dive Summary:
- Speaking at the University of Buffalo on Thursday, President Barack Obama laid out the details for his proposal on improving college affordability, which centers around a new college rating system.
- The rating system—based on factors like average tuition and student loan debt, graduation rates and graduates' average earnings—would be implemented by the 2015 academic year and, pending Congressional approval, tied to financial aid disbursement by 2018.
- Obama also suggested having colleges with high dropout rates disburse financial aid over the course of the semester instead of a lump sum at the beginning, awarding a "bonus" to schools based on the number of Pell Grant graduates to keep them from gaming the system and expanding "Pay As You Earn" loan repayment.
From the article:
... “It’s time to stop subsidizing schools that are not producing good results and reward schools that deliver American students of our future,” Obama told a crowd of more than 7,000 at the University of Buffalo. ...