The 2008 presidential nominees, Democratic Senator Barack Obama and Republican Senator John McCain both cite the affordability of a college education as a key priority in the upcoming election, although their strategies differ. McCain seeks to increase the efficiency of current offerings while Obama plans to expand college tuition tax credits, Pell grants and other forms of scholarships.
Obama's first bill as senator sought to increase the maximum Pell Grant award, a federal need-based grant for low-income college students, to $5,100 from $4,050, but was unsuccessful. He later helped pass similar legislation with the recent Higher Education Act, the Obama campaign reports.
Federal funding for higher education is especially crucial during an economic crisis, Jill Biden, wife of Democratic vice-presidential nominee Senator Joe Biden, said in a conference call with college journalists on Tuesday.
Jill Biden, who worked as an English teacher at a community college for a number of years, said that watching her students run out of money and funding, try to work two jobs while in school and find themselves unable to afford gas and textbooks, reminded her of the importance of voting to fund educational programs.
McCain's web site does not provide any information about his support of Pell Grants, and his campaign did not respond to request for comment. In a speech at South Carolina State University last October, however, McCain said that the amount of aid from a Pell Grant should be increased so that it pays for a larger chunk of tuition, according to the nonpartisan group Financial Aid Finder.
Obama has also proposed the American Opportunity Tax Credit, which would pay for the first $4,000 of a college student's tuition in exchange for 100 hours of community service. The plan would pay for roughly two-thirds of a public university's tuition and make community college free for most students, Jill Biden said.
Both candidates propose streamlining the financial-aid application process and reforming the systems that provide student loans.
Obama suggested eliminating the current federal financial-aid application -- FAFSA -- and enabling families to apply for aid by checking an additional box on their tax forms and confirming that the information had been passed on to colleges and universities.
According to McCain's campaign web site, he plans to simplify federal financial aid because "too many programs and a complicated application process deter many eligible students from seeking student aid." McCain would consolidate programs so that students can more easily take advantage of those they are eligible for, according to the site.
McCain's web site also states that, as president, he plans to "expand the lender-of-last resort capability of the federal student loan system, meaning that they will demand the highest standard of integrity for participating private lenders."
His campaign did not respond to requests for further information about the meaning of these proposals.
Obama discussed his plan to restructure the student loan system to be more cost-effective and provide more aid to students during a conference call with college journalists in September.
"One way we can make college more affordable is by reforming a wasteful system that profits private banks at the cost of taxpayers," Obama said.
Obama and McCain took opposing stances on last summer's G.I, bill -- the biggest expansion of educational benefits to veterans since World War II. Obama supported the bill while McCain opposed it. Sponsored by Sen. Jim Webb D-Va., the plan, which became law in June, gives anyone who served in the military for at least three years a full-ride scholarship to in-state public universities. The plan also boosts monthly housing stipends for student veterans.
"We've got to have outstanding educational benefits for veterans when they come home," Obama said in at a town hall meeting in Texas this June.
McCain, however, was one of 25 senators who did not support the bill, though he did not vote on the bill this spring.
"Encouraging people to choose to not become noncommissioned officers would hurt the military and our country very badly," he said at a Memorial Day event in New Mexico, referring to the fact that the bill provided these scholarships after only three years of service.
McCain and Obama also took different positions on the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Act, introduced by Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass. The act, which was signed into law in September 2007, created a new public service loan forgiveness program that discharges student loans after 10 years of full-time work in the public service sector.
Obama supported the bill. McCain voted against the bill. His campaign did not respond to requests for a comment explaining the vote.
Federal support of financial aid is a timely issue for today's students. Over the past five years, the cost of public universities for in-state students has shot up 35 percent, and the cost of private colleges and universities has risen 11 percent, according to the College Board.
