President-elect Barack Obama, who taught for 12 years at the University of Chicago Law School, has spoken about the importance of higher education for a stronger economy.
"If we want to out-compete the world tomorrow, we must out-educate the world today," Obama said in a speech in Ohio Sept. 9.
Obama's plan for higher education, at least for now, centers on making college more financially accessible. His plan includes providing a tax credit toward education and simplifying the federal financial aid process. He has also proposed increased funding for scientific research.
The tuition relief program is called the American Opportunity Tax Credit. Under the proposed credit, families could receive a $4,000 tax credit contingent upon completion of 100 hours of community service. According to Obama's campaign Web site, the $4,000 could cover two-thirds of the cost of tuition at the average public college or university and all of community college tuition.
Assistant Professor of Education Martin West said the tax credit would primarily benefit the middle class "by virtue of the fact of who ends up going to college and who would be in a position to do service." It will not do much for the most disadvantaged students, he said.
Daniel Hurley, director of state relations and policy analysis for the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, said that linking community service with education sets a "nice precedent." He guessed the tax credit would have a modest effect on college admissions, and said he would rather see the government "just invest money up front in terms of grants."
Obama also hopes to improve college accessibility by simplifying the way students apply for financial aid. He plans to eliminate the federal financial aid application and have the government determine aid based on families' tax returns.
"Right now, filling out the application is a very bureaucratic and time-consuming and confusing process," Hurley said, adding that it deters some students from pursuing higher education. "They don't fill it out, they don't get the money and therefore they don't attend college," he said.
Reforms to financial aid are supported by both the federal government and the academic community, said James Tilton, Brown's director of financial aid.
Tilton said he also hoped to see an increase in Pell Grants, which come from the federal government and go directly to students from low-income families. He said an increase had been suggested by Congress, but added that it was more of a "big hope" in light of the current economy. Currently about 700 Brown students receive Pell Grants, amounting to $2.6 million annually, he said.
In addition to financial assistance, Obama has prioritized scientific research.
Obama has called for doubling federal funding for basic scientific research, said Tim Leshan, director of government relations and community affairs.
This would be "very good for research universities like Brown," which "depend very heavily on federal funding."
Leshan also speculated that in addition to funding, new policies within the Obama administration might increase avenues for research. For example, stem cell research, which Leshan said "has not grown substantially" under the Bush administration, might expand in the new administration, he said.
"We're just hopeful that maybe there will be a renewed interest in research and research funding" in the next four years, Leshan said. But he acknowledged that "given the tightness of the federal budget," it may be hard to find the money to pursue these initiatives.
However, West said the issues facing higher education will not be solved simply through funding and financial aid for college and universities.
"I think that the most important issue is actually a lack of academic preparation," he said. "Higher education policy can't be successful without paying attention to improving the quality of K-12 schools."
The Obama campaign has outlined a series of measures to improve K-12 schools, which include reforming No Child Left Behind and increasing participation in Advanced Placement and other college-credit programs by 50 percent by 2016.
His campaign has also mentioned an Early Assessment Program - a voluntary 11th-grade test designed "to inform students what they need to do to prepare for college while they still have time to do it," according to Obama's Web site. The campaign has suggested that the tests will be developed by individual states but funded by the federal government.
The amount of money allocated to colleges and universities for all of the programs proposed by Obama, as well as for scholarships, will depend on how much money the government is willing to allocate during a financial crisis.
"Clearly job one is addressing the economic crisis facing the country," Hurley said. "The forecast is bleak."
Despite all of Obama's intentions, Hurley said, "I don't see significant changes at least in the first few months of his administration."
Hurley is worried that public universities and community colleges will suffer from budget cuts as states reduce funding in an effort to weather the financial crisis. Hurley said lawmakers make these cuts "because they know colleges can raise tuition."
If tuitions rise, some students will be priced out of the college market, he said.
