As the remaining Democratic presidential candidates enter two hectic, make-or-break months of campaigning, they continue to refine their policy stands and initiatives. Though higher education has not joined national security or economic growth as a headline-grabbing issue, the candidates all have stressed its importance as part of their individual domestic policy proposals.
Many candidates would simplify the financial aid process and establish universal grants, loans or tax credits. Payments under Sen. John Edwards' and Rep. Dennis Kucinich's proposals would cover the entire cost of attending a public college, while Gen. Wesley Clark's maximum grant of $6,000 could be used at either public or private colleges. Gov. Howard Dean's plan, which would rely on loans in addition to grants, would cap assistance at $10,000. Proposals from Dean and Kucinich would contribute toward the costs for all years of college, while Clark's plan would apply toward the first two years and Edwards's would cover the first.
"The general sees [higher education] as the place where you give a student a chance, but they have the opportunity to determine what they want to do," said Robert Hinkle, Clark's Virginia communications director.
Sen. John Kerry's plan calls for an annual $4,000 tax credit per student, while Sen. Joe Lieberman's proposal would increase the maximum Pell grant given to lower income families.
Some candidates have linked their higher education and national service policy proposals. Dean, Edwards, and Kerry all have programs that would reward students for volunteering or entering national and public service by paying for their education.
Dean's plan contains provisions designed to limit the amount of loans students would have to pay after graduation.
"What he's planning to do is guarantee that students will have the resources to work for a career after college," said Pam Mueller, Dean's spokesperson in Virginia.
The candidates, in acknowledging cost as a factor in the viability of their plans, have alluded to where the money to fund their proposals will come from. For example, Dean has said the money for his college plan would come from a repeal of President Bush's tax cuts. Taking a different approach, Kucinich has suggested cutting the Pentagon's budget. Alternatively, Edwards would fund his plan by eliminating the role of banks as middlemen in the student loan process.
"He wants to make [the student loan system] a direct lending process across the board, which would give it greater efficiency," said Patrick Dillon, Edwards' spokesperson in Virginia.
Despite structural differences in their plans, the candidates' representatives agreed the goal is to extend the benefits of a college education to any student in America willing to take advantage of it.
"The process can't be so restrictive
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