College

The New College Compact: Costs won’t be a barrier, debt won’t hold you back.

“We need to make a quality education affordable and available to everyone willing to work for it, without saddling them with decades of debt.”

HILLARY, AUGUST 10, 2015

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GL-N-ahseU

Hillary has a vision for America in which education is attainable for all. The New College Compact will ensure that costs aren’t a barrier to college and that debt doesn’t hold Americans back.

Here’s what every student and family should expect under Hillary’s plan:

Costs won't be a barrier.

•Students should never have to borrow to pay for tuition, books, and fees to attend a four-year public college in their state under the New College Compact. Pell Grants are not included in the calculation of no-debt-tuition, so Pell recipients will be able to use their grants fully for living expenses. Students at community college will receive free tuition.

•Students will do their part by contributing their earnings from working 10 hours a week.

•Families will do their part by making an affordable and realistic family contribution.

•The federal government will make a major investment in the New College Compact by providing grants to states that commit to these goals, and by cutting interest rates on loans.

•States will have to step up and meet their obligation to invest in higher education by maintaining current levels of higher education funding and reinvesting over time.

•Colleges and universities will be accountable for improving outcomes and controlling costs to ensure that tuition is affordable and that students who invest in college leave with a degree.

•We will encourage innovators who design imaginative new ways of providing a valuable college education to students—while cracking down on abusive practices that burden students with debt without value.

Debt won’t hold you back.

•Under Hillary’s plan, if you have student debt, you will be able to refinance your loans at current rates. An estimated 25 million borrowers will receive debt relief, and the typical borrower could save $2,000 over the life of his or her loans.

•For future undergraduates, the plan will significantly cut interest rates so they reflect the government’s low cost of debt. This could save students hundreds or thousands of dollars over the life of their loans.

•Everyone will be able to enroll in a simplified, income-based repayment program so that borrowers never have to pay more than 10 percent of what they make.

Fully paid for: This plan will cost around $350 billion over 10 years—and will be fully paid for by limiting certain tax expenditures for high-income taxpayers.