The Root
Hillary Clinton unveiled a “New College Compact”—a $350 billion proposal—as part of her 2016 presidential platform this week, promising to ease the cost of higher education and, in the same breath, reduce student debt.
In the broader proposal, Clinton proposes that states “will have to step up … by maintaining current levels of higher education funding and reinvesting their time,” and colleges and universities will have to control their costs to make tuition affordable, among other points.
Clinton, however, also includes provisions specifically directed at historically black colleges and universities, including a dedicated $25 billion fund to provide support to private HBCUs, targeting low- and middle-income students and helping them build the skills they need.
Regardless of their public or private status, Clinton’s plan also proposes the following for all HBCUs:
* Making significant cuts to the interest rates that students pay on any loans they take out so that the government never profits on the loans;
* Enabling students with debt to refinance their loans at low current rates;
* Allowing parents with PLUS loans to refinance at current rates;
* Extending the American Opportunity Tax Credit, with its $1,000 refundable credit, to low-income families sending their sons and daughters to these schools; read more
