Hillary Clinton to unveil $350 billion plan to make higher education affordable

Hillary Clinton.
(Image credit: Bryan Thomas/Getty Images)

On Monday, Hillary Clinton will announce her plan to make college more affordable and accessible for millions of Americans.

Called the New College Compact, the plan would create an incentive program that will give more money to states that agree to offer "no loan" tuition at community colleges and four-year public universities; states that enroll more low- and middle-income students; and states that work with colleges to reduce living expenses for students, The Washington Post reports. The plan would cost $350 billion over the course of 10 years, and Clinton would close tax loopholes to secure funding. More than half of the money would be invested in the states, and one-third would go to lowering interest rates on student loans.

The rest of the money would go into other initiatives, including giving grants to schools for child care and emergency financial aid in order to increase graduation rates; investing in support systems on campuses for older students; and allowing federal student aid to be used for online career training programs that issue certificates. "This plan would go further to help the 40 million Americans with student debt than any other plan right now," Chris Hicks, with Jobs for Justice's Debt-Free Future campaign, told the Post. "Other candidates and Congress need to pay attention."

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Catherine Garcia

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.