U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan stressed the importance of President Obama's proposal to make college more affordable for students by creating new loan opportunities Friday.
Obama's current plan includes eliminating the Federal Family Education Loan Program, a program that Duncan argues provides wasteful subsidies to banks issuing student loans, and requires all federal student loans to be directly lent by the government.
Hard-working students deserve the opportunity to receive higher education, Duncan said. One step toward achieving this goal is to increase funding for loans by ""tens of billions of dollars.""
Duncan is concerned the state of the economy could cause many students to choose not to go to college. The new proposal will make sure families know this money will be guaranteed and indexed slightly above inflation, he said.
An additional $2.5 billion over the next five years will be invested to increase graduation rates at universities.
""Obviously, getting students into college is very important, but if they're not coming out with a diploma we're not really changing their long term prospects,"" Duncan said.
When asked about how the proposal might make schools safer for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and undocumented students, Duncan said creating an environment where students can succeed academically without economic concerns would foster more inclusive environments that encourage tolerance.
Duncan said it is important undocumented students have the opportunity to receive loans, and said he would do everything possible to encourage states to offer in-state tuition for these students.
""I think it's absolutely in the state's economic interest to make sure that these students have access and are treated just like their friends and peers from college,"" he said.
According to Duncan, these reforms provide an opportunity to increase access to higher education, and ensure that these opportunities are available to everyone.
