Quality Education
College: Soaring Out of Reach for Families
The dream of a college education is being priced out of reach for more and more American students and their families. Tuition is rising while wages are flat or sinking. Conservatives in Congress have responded by cutting $12 billion from federal student loan programs and raising loan interest rates for student and their parents. Conservatives in state governments have cut back funding for colleges, passing more costs to families in the form of increased tuitions and fees. See below to find out how your representative voted.
The Case
Conservatives Letting Head Start Fall Behind
President Bush signed bipartisan legislation in December reauthorizing the Head Start program. But even as they praised the program, Congress funded the program at $480 million below its authorized level. Then President Bush in early February proposed a budget that would reduce funding even further below what the Congress authorized. more »
Progressive Values for Education
Americans want schools that teach values as well as math and reading. more »
Facts & Resources
College: Soaring Out of Reach for Families
The dream of a college education is being priced out of reach for more and more American students and their families. Tuition is rising while wages are flat or sinking. Conservatives in Congress have responded by cutting $12 billion from federal student loan programs and raising loan interest rates for student and their parents. Conservatives in state governments have cut back funding for colleges, passing more costs to families in the form of increased tuitions and fees. See below to find out how your representative voted.more »
Parents are Very Concerned about Paying for Their Children's College
According to a recent New York Times/CBS News poll, 70 percent of parents surveyed were “very concerned” about how they would pay for college; only 6 percent were not concerned.
The News
House Curbs College Costs
February 8th, 2008
Poll: Schools Not Preparing Kids
June 30th, 2008
The Voices
America’s Human Capital Is Tested
The educational quality of the country's workers is starting to decline — not just relatively but also, for the first time, in absolute terms. Over the coming years, baby-boomers departing from the labor force will have better educational qualifications than the younger workers replacing them. If the ultimate source of an economy—s ability to grow and prosper is its human capital, the U.S. is in trouble.more »
One Small Step for Equality of Opportunity
Generous subsidies from some ivy league schools have encouraged a broader range of students across the income spectrum to compete for slots, with some lower-income public school applicants beating out the prep school grads.more »
Latest from our Bloggers
jun
19
2008
4:03 pm
4:03 pm
It's the kind of thing that's easily written off as a photo opportunity: a presidential candidate sitting down with a worried student and a financial aid administrator, working out a plan to help the student pay for her education. But, not if the candidate is one who understands the importance of education, and the difficulty of paying for it. So, when I read about Barack Obama helping a college student with her tuition concerns, it made sense.
jun
17
2008
10:45 am
10:45 am
The propaganda machine supporting school vouchers, headquartered in the office of Education Secretary Margaret Spellings, is determined not to let the facts get in the way of conservative ideological spin. more »
may
29
2008
11:45 am
11:45 am
As college students celebrate graduation this May, their joy is combined with the harsh reality they face post-graduation--many of these students will graduate with unmanageable levels of loan debt that they can not afford basic necessities. more »
mar
28
2008
9:45 am
9:45 am
Newly released data by the Department of Education illuminates the educational landscape of America. more »
mar
26
2008
10:44 am
10:44 am
If "making the grade" is no longer a path to "moving on up," then it looks like the decoupling of education from employment, upward mobility, and the American Dream is at least underway. Or maybe it's already happened.more »
oct
24
2007
12:16 pm
12:16 pm
The College Board this week released its new Trends in Higher Education report, and it shows how our lack of public investment is putting a college education out of reach of working families.
The report examines college costs, financial aid, and the importance of a college education. It notes that while for the 2007-2008 school year tuition increases at four-year colleges are not as high as they have been for the past five years, total federal grant funding for undergraduates has still not caught up, when inflation is taken into account. In fact, the report says, "total federal grant funding to undergraduates was still lower in 2006-07 than it was three years earlier, after adjusting for inflation."
This is happening at the same time legislatures in many states are not appropriating enough funds to cover legitimate increased education costs.
The College Board report makes clear why the College Cost Reduction and Access Act is needed: more »
oct
23
2007
11:53 am
11:53 am
The irony of President Bush's demand on Monday for $46 billion in additional emergency spending for the war in Iraq and Afghanistan—an irony missed by most of the news media—is that it occurred as the Senate debated an appropriations bill for domestic education, labor and human services programs that President Bush has threatened to veto—over a comparatively minor $9.6 billion.
sep
28
2007
3:00 pm
3:00 pm
On Thursday, President Bush took credit for signing the College Cost Reduction and Access Act. His claims stand history on its head. Bush said the bill:
"[E]xpands one of America's most important and successful education initiatives—the Federal Pell Grant Program. For the last six years, I've worked to make sure that we expand Pell Grants."
He seems to have forgotten that he was president during the last six years. President Bush and the Republicans, when they were in the majority in Congress, repeatedly defeated Democratic attempts to increase Pell grants. Since 2001, Pell Grant maximum awards to individuals have fallen by $99. In the past three years, total Federal Pell Grant expenditures declined by $1 billion.
Bush even threatened to veto the bill he is now taking credit for. But a majority of Republicans recognized the change in the political winds and signed onto the Democratic legislation, giving it a veto- proof majority. Only then did he decide to sign it.
How dare President Bush take credit for this piece of progressive legislation? The real heroes are leaders Rep. George Miller and Sen. Edward Kennedy, and thhe grassroots coalition, the Campaign for College Affordability.
