Third Way Statement on Secretary Clinton’s “New College Compact”

WASHINGTON – Today Third Way’s Director of Social Policy and Politics Lanae Erickson Hatalsky released the following statement on Secretary Clinton’s “New College Compact”:

“Secretary Clinton’s ‘New College Compact’ represents a bold and significant shift from the past. Instead of focusing only on how to help students afford college, it begins to tackle the two biggest challenges we face in our higher education system: significantly increasing the quality of college education while lowering the actual cost. This proposal opens up a whole new conversation on the Democratic side of the aisle—one that recognizes we must care not just about the amount of debt a student has accrued but whether he or she received an education worth that investment. As we said in our February 'New College Compact' report, just 39 percent of first time, full time students graduate in four years, and a third of college students gain no critical thinking skills. We can no longer ignore this disconnect between sticker price and quality if we want to make sure American students are getting their money’s worth.”