No one doubts the value of a college education. It is increasingly a requirement for entry into the middle class. But the road to a degree is filled with lots of potholes and obstacles. One top of it all is the ever-rising price of higher education, which is saddling many students with thousands of dollars of debt as they walk out the door with their degree — if they get a degree at all.
The three key words in the college affordability conversation are “time to degree,” according to Michael Dannenberg on this week’s Codcast. Getting more students to finish their higher ed programs and obtain degrees on time are crucial, says the one-time adviser to the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, who now serves as director of strategic initiatives at Democrats for Education Reform in Washington.