Obama Says Education a Key to Economic Rebound: ...To that end, he proposed an 'American Graduation Initiative' to bolster the two-year community college field that serves millions of students as a launching point for careers or a step toward expanded higher education.
Competitive grants would be offered to schools to try new programs or expand training and counseling.
High dropout rates would be addressed by designing programs to track students and help them earn an associate's degree or finish their education at a four-year institution. Money would also be spent to renovate and rebuild college facilities, and online courses would be developed to help colleges offer more classes.
The White House says the cost would be $12 billion over 10 years; Obama says it would be paid for by ending wasteful subsidies to banks and private lenders of student loans.
