In his visit to Western New York today, President Obama unveiled a series of higher education reforms aimed at making college more affordable.

A new way of ranking colleges

His ideas include creating a new rating system for colleges that would judge schools on measures like tuition, graduation rates, debt and earnings of graduates, and the percentage of lower-income students who attend to determine how federal financial aid is distributed.

These reforms, he argues, would give colleges an incentive “do more with less” and deliver better value to students and families.

Holding colleges and students accountable

The President hopes that starting in 2018, the new college ratings would be tied to financial aid, so that students at highly rated colleges might get larger federal grants and more affordable loans. This would, however, require new legislation to be passed by Congress.

President Obama also wants to hold students more accountable for graduating and offer incentives, such as higher grants and scholarships, for staying in school and making progress toward a degree.

We’re happy to see accountability and affordability finally becoming part of the conversation about student loans. Reducing interest rates is not enough–real steps have to be taken to lower college costs so that excessive student debt is not necessary for families and students to afford an education.

No help for students currently in debt

President Obama’s reforms appear to be a step in the right direction. Unfortunately, his measures provide no relief for those already suffering with student debt. Various repayment options can help in the short term, but the $1 trillion currently in federal student loan debt isn’t going away anytime soon.

If you’re struggling to afford your monthly payments or confused about repaying your student loans, check out our repayment strategies. And, as always, feel free to email us or give us a call at 1-888-234-3907 for a free consultation on how we can help you manage your student loan debt.