Friday WSU President Elson Floyd issued the following statement in response to President Obama’s recently announced proposal to award colleges federal financial aid based on ratings determined by affordability and performance.
“I am pleased that President Obama has turned his attention to affordability and accountability in higher education. Many of us have been focused on these issues for some time now, and it is refreshing to have the President join us in this regard. We must not forget the relationship between state appropriations and tuition levels. The Washington State Legislature is to be commended for reinvesting in higher education this year, resulting in a zero percent increase in tuition in this fall semester. The metrics used to evaluate institutional performance under the President’s plan will be extremely important. We welcome continued dialogue in the design of these criteria for the benefit of our students.”
The White House plan would create a rating system beginning 2015 to evaluate colleges on a number of metrics including tuition, percentage of low-income students, and debt of graduates and graduates’ average earnings. The Seattle Times has more on the proposal here.
You can access the press release of President Floyd’s statement at WSU News online here.