President Barack Obama rolled out a new plan to address the rising cost of higher education and student loan debt on Thursday, touting the successes of several states all led by Republican governors.
While speaking at the University of Buffalo — the first stop on his bus tour through New York and Pennsylvania — President Obama praised the efforts of GOP-led states for the work they are doing to help students. During his speech, Obama referenced Tennessee, Ohio and Indiana for implementing policies that allocate more funding to colleges better preparing students for their post-graduate career.
In Ohio, Republican Gov. John Kasich’s budget for 2014-2015 bases even more state funding for colleges on how many students they graduate, not how many they enroll, increasing that section of a school’s state funding from the current 20 percent to 50 percent.
Obama also highlighted Michigan, which rewards schools that keep tuition costs down. That program was designed by Republican Gov. Rick Snyder, and as a result, all Michigan public colleges kept their tuition increases under 4 percent for the 2012-2013 school year.
And the President wants these Republican-driven programs to spread to other states as well.
“I’m challenging all states to come up with new and innovative ways to fund their colleges in a way that drives better results,” he said on Thursday.
He then went on to tout programs at Southern New Hampshire University, University of Wisconsin, Central Missouri University, Carnegie Mellon, Arizona State and Georgia Tech for experimenting with new ways to keep tuition low for students.
“A lot of other schools are experimenting with these ideas to keep tuition down. They’ve got other ways to help students graduate in less time, at less costs, while still maintaining high quality,” Obama said. “The point is it’s possible.”
Of the 10 states Obama mentioned, either directly or by referencing a school in the state, eight are led by Republican governors with the exception of Missouri and New Hampshire, where Central Missouri University and Southern New Hampshire University are located, respectively.
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