In a national conference call with college journalists Monday, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan stressed the importance of higher education and the need for financial aid reform.
Duncan held the call to explain how he plans to carry out President Barack Obama’s goal to return the United States to its place leading the world in awarding college degrees.
America used to have the highest proportion of citizens with a college degree, but dropped in rankings just one generation later, Duncan said.
The United States is ranked sixth in the world for most citizens between 25 and 64 with an associate degree or higher, according to a 2010 progress report by College Board.
“President Obama has set an ambitious goal for the country,” Duncan said. “He wants America to again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by a decade from now, by 2020.”
It’s not good for America to be ranked so low, especially during a time when education is more crucial than ever, Duncan said.
“That’s not good for our country’s economy, it’s not good for our families, and we have to again lead the world,” he said. “To get there, we need an all-hands-on-deck approach to prepare our students for college and help them not just go, but complete their degrees.”
Duncan addressed the fact that many lower and middle class Americans cannot afford a college education, and there’s a need for reform of the country’s financial aid system.
Obama signed legislation in March that increased the number of students receiving the Federal Pell Grant by 2.4 million. Students can currently receive up to $5,500 a year from the grant, and that will increase to $6,000 by 2017. Duncan said.
Health sciences freshman Curtis Lowery said if it weren’t for the Pell Grant, he couldn’t attend ASU.
“I can focus on school fully and therefore perform better in my classes,” he said. “It makes my college experience less stressful and more doable.”
MTV and College Board, a nonprofit organization that helps students succeed in college, are also making an effort to help students with financial aid by promoting a new five-year campaign called “Get Schooled.” Both organizations also participated in the conference call.
The campaign is designed to engage and empower students, increase high school graduation rates, improve college readiness and raise college completion rates, said Jason Rzepka, vice president of MTV public affairs.
A program within the campaign, called “Get Schooled College Affordability Challenge,” is intended to provide students an easier way to find financial aid, he said.
“We know that upwards to 2 million college students don’t apply for any of the nearly $70 billion in financial aid that the government distributes each year,” Rzepka said.
The program asks students from across the nation to pitch ideas for a better digital tool that will make finding financial aid easier, he said.
Pitches can be submitted at GetSchooled.MTV.com until Dec. 17. The person or team with the winning idea will receive $10,000 and their idea will be put into place, Rzepka said.
Reach the reporter at cottens@asu.edu
