Obama calls for tuition relief, job training programs

In the annual State of the Union address, President Obama on Tuesday outlined several new initiatives aimed at improving the nation's higher-education system and addressing a shortfall in workers with the skills that employers are seeking. He emphasized the critical role of postsecondary institutions in a speech heavily focused on jobs and the economy.

He called on Congress to take action to prevent the interest rate for federally subsidized Stafford student loans from doubling on July 1, and proposed making a tax credit for tuition permanent, a measure that provides up to $10,000 in tuition relief over four years of college. He also appealed to states to stop the wholesale teacher layoffs many have undertaken in the face of severe budget constraints.

Noting that the aggregate debt burden that Americans hold in the form of student loans has surpassed credit card debt, Obama also had tough words for colleges and universities that press ahead with tuition hikes, rather than pursuing efficiencies in education through approaches such as new technologies or accelerated courses of study.

"[I]t's not enough for us to increase student aid. We can't just keep subsidizing skyrocketing tuition -- we'll run out of money. States also need to do their part, by making higher education a higher priority in their budgets. And colleges and universities have to do their part by working to keep costs down," Obama said.

"So let me put colleges and universities on notice: If you can't stop tuition from going up, the funding you get from taxpayers will go down. Higher education can't be a luxury -- it is an economic imperative that every family in America should be able to afford," he added.

Over the past two decades and adjusted for inflation, tuition and fees at four-year public universities have increased by 136 percent, according to the White House.

In his speech, Obama set a goal of doubling the number of work-study programs over the next five years, another approach to addressing the challenge of college affordability.

Keeping kids in school

At the secondary level, Obama called for measures to curb drop-out rates, asking each state to enact rules barring anyone under the age of 18 from leaving high school before earning a diploma, a step that 20 states have already taken.

After making a forceful case against U.S. companies that outsource jobs overseas and calling for tax breaks for American manufacturers that hire domestically, Obama noted that many businesses that are hiring are having trouble finding workers with the appropriate skills.

"Growing industries in science and technology have twice as many openings as we have workers who can do the job," he said. "Think about that -- openings at a time when millions of Americans are looking for work. It's inexcusable. And we know how to fix it."

Obama's answer is a national commitment to equip 2 million Americans with skills that lead directly to a job, a program that would foster partnerships between businesses and community colleges.

"Now you need to give more community colleges the resources they need to become community career centers -- places that teach people skills that businesses are looking for right now, from data management to high-tech manufacturing," Obama said.

He also signaled that he would press to simplify and consolidate the patchwork of job training programs currently available into a single program with one website, and to "turn our unemployment system into a reemployment system that puts people to work."