Obama's higher-ed agenda uncertain

In the beginnings of his campaign, Barack Obama promised to help students pay for college, garnering their support to help him win the election. Now, with an economy in recession, experts and students alike are wondering whether any of those promises can be realized soon enough.

"I think that these are extraordinarily difficult times," said Doug Imig, U of M political science professor. "This economic situation has not been seen in this country in about 80 years, and whoever is in charge is going to have an incredibly difficult job."

In the realm of higher education, Obama has two major proposals on the line. To tackle college affordability issues, Obama and Biden formed a plan called the "American Opportunity Tax Credit." The credit "will ensure that the first $4,000 of a college education is completely free for most Americans," as stated on barackobama.com.

Obama's second initiative is to simplify the application process for financial aid by eliminating the current federal application and enabling families to apply by checking a box on their tax form. While out on the trail in Texas, Obama called the cost of textbooks "a big scam," according to Swamppolitics.com. However, he did not propose any legislative action. In a May 2007 proposal, Obama responded to a student loan scandal by proposing a series of reforms that he said would allow for a significant boost in Pell Grant support, pledging to keep the Pell Grant maximums rising at the level of inflation or higher, according to Insidehighered.com. Obama also promised to double federal funds for basic research. The Chronicle also cited Obama's pledges to allow some undocumented illegal immigrants to qualify for certain types of federal aid and to allow colleges to consider race in admissions. Obama's $4,000 tax credit comes with a requirement for 100 hours of community service.

"There is a strong feeling within higher education leadership that some component of community service really should be linked to the federal commitment to provide tax credit and financial aid," said Charles Lenth at the State of Higher Education Executive Offices, or SHEEO.

"A problem is that many of the students that we need to make more successful are the non-traditional students, adults who already have commitments," said Lenth, the vice president for policy analysis and academic affairs.

There's a big distance between what state leaders feel needs to be done nationally and what either candidate could articulate during their campaigns, said Lenth. SHEEO sent a letter to Obama and McCain urging the need to increase graduates by a million a year. Something of that magnitude must be done to have an economy competitive in the future, he said.

"With the amount of money being spent on bail-out plans, there just doesn't seem to be a lot of promise for other spending priorities such as tax credits for tuition," said Sara Hebel, senior editor for government and politics at The Chronicle of Higher Education.

However, Hebel said that didn't necessarily mean students' concerns weren't being considered, citing a recent Chronicle poll of students in battleground states who listed the economy as their number one concern.

"Honestly, I was thinking more about the economy as a whole when I voted," said Nan Cook, art history major.

The senior said she wasn't only thinking about the cost of school, but about getting a job after she graduated, paying rent and getting health insurance. Cook said she trusted Obama's plans would help the economy in the long-term, even if some of his plans for education couldn't be realized in his first term as president.

During the campaign, Obama's pledges were not limited to higher education but encompassed expansion for learning programs from birth on. Imig said he was most impressed with Obama's plans for early childhood education.

"I think that as a political scientist, the questions most interesting to me are what would make Americans become engaged in politics, and the issue most visceral has to do with the well being of children," he said. "It's (an issue) across lines of race, class and gender."

Imig said this election was different from previous elections because technology allowed for more direct involvement from the voters. Obama owes his victory to millions of previously disaffected voters, said Imig, and the same dynamic that got the victory will continue to be in play.

"We should judge (a presidency) by where they are starting and where they go from there," Imig said. "We shouldn't judge this administration harshly for the mistakes of the last, but we shouldn't give them a pass if they make their own."