Hillary Clinton’s College Plan Appeals to the Left, but Educators Have Doubts

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/30/us/politics/hillary-clinton-college-education.html?mabReward=CTM&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&region=CColumn&module=Recommendation&src=rechp&WT.nav=RecEngine

Hillary Clinton declared her new education plan, promising to invest $500 billion to eliminate tuition for millions of students at public college and universities. Many liberal wing of the party has pleased the idea, however, many educators have questioned how such a plan would work. Although the massive subsidies to public universities fascinate for many, private institutions will be forced to change their business models to survive. Some big private universities have robust endowments and reputations to survive, but not be the case for small and independent colleges. Another potential consequences of Mrs.Clinton’s proposal are public universities’ increasing tuition fees at the expense of taxpayers, and the shortage of classroom space to contain the large enrollments. The expense of the need for new infrastructure will depend on how many new students enter the public university system. Clinton campaign officials are aware that some details still need to be improved, and they want to give more funding. Mrs.Clinton wants students to be able to refinance their existing loans at lower rates by lower interest rates on student debt. Politics could be the biggest obstacle to Mrs.Clinton’s proposal if she wins the presidency.