While some may view the combination of slashed budgets and skyrocketing costs as the death knell for the affordable college education in America, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan sees it as nothing more than another round of challenges for what he still considers the greatest educational system in the world.
In a phone conference Monday, Duncan reassured student reporters that the government is doing all it can to keep students in school at a reasonable price.
“[A college education] has never been more important,” Duncan said. “But it’s never been more expensive.”
While Duncan acknowledged problems within the educational system like keeping costs down and preparing students to finish college, he pointed to increases in federal funding and the simplifying of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid as positive signs.
The conference call was sponsored by MTV and the College Board as a part of their “Get Schooled College Affordability Challenge,” which allows students from across the nation to propose new ideas to revamp the financial aid system.
Gaston Caperton, former governor of West Virginia and current president of The College Board, said a lot of the problems facing the American educational system are due to a combination of overspending and failing to save.
A solution may hinge on the federal government’s ability to raise taxes, he said. He acknowledged that some Americans may not appreciate such a measure, but he said a better-educated America would outweigh the cost.
“It wasn’t the popular thing to do, but it was the right thing to do,” he said.
