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President Barack Obama called for reforms in the way Americans pay for higher education before an audience of students at the University of Michigan. He told the students that the increasing college costs are slowing the endeavors to strengthen the economic future of the nation. He added that the tuition and fees have doubled or even more, since most of the students were born and this forces them to borrow more loans and face the problem of accumulated debt.

Obama said that his administration has taken efforts to make higher education more affordable. The Administration has given more federal money to the needy students. However, the increasing college costs make the higher education programs more difficult to afford even for the government. It is not possible to keep on subsidizing raising tuition. President expressed his worry that if tuition is increasing more than inflation and health care, we will run out of money soon.

Obama plans to withdraw or reduce federal student aids from universities that do not keep their tuition costs under control. He warned colleges that they are on notice. If they assume that they can increase tuition every year and if they cannot impede tuition from increasing then the financial support they get from taxpayers every year will be reduced. He said this is the time to force colleges to take steps to enhance their productivity.

Obama also said he wants to start a competition among states, so that they would use money for higher education better. The winning state would be rewarded with $1 billion. He called for states to find innovative ways to reduce college costs and make it easy for more students to complete their graduation. If states take such efforts, the government will definitely help them. He also stated that another competition would be started to encourage college campuses to come up with new ways to increase their productivity.

In his State of the Union address, Obama explained his meeting with University presidents who explicated how some schools cut back costs through technology and by redesigning courses to help students to complete the course more quickly. Obama said more schools should follow these steps. President promoted the education initiatives he discussed in State of the Union address in his speech. Most of his plans face a difficult future in Congress. It must approve almost all of his plans.

Some republicans specified that reducing federal aid will hurt students and the president’s education plan will reduce the independence of the higher education system. The proposals of the President would attract young voters and working families.

The response to Obama’s plan was not at all negative. Many University presidents appreciated his plans, saying that they are ready to discuss about making college more affordable and productive.
Obama is planning to provide more tools to help students decide which colleges and universities would provide the most excellent value. He believes that the economic future of our nation depends largely on ensuring that every American can afford a good education.