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White House, Congress and the media have finally deemed it the right time to debate on ways to address the issue of constantly rising college tuition fees. We have listened to a number of speeches by our President on this subject. Now, for the first time, educationists and critics are questioning the wisdom of President Obama’s college access at any cost mantra.

In this election year, it is not really possible for Richard Durbin, the Senator’s recent proposal that drew a lot of attention.  According to Durbin, the 90-10 rule must be changed. He says that sources other than federal aid must contribute to ten percent of the revenue of career and for-profit colleges to make them eligible for federal aid. He says that this can be done in two ways.

Non federal aid sources must contribute towards the revenue of these colleges through splitting of required revenue to 85-15. Considering that military revenues are nothing but federal aid, he says that benefits such as the 9/11 GI Bill must be a part of the 85 or 90 percent.

Those eligible for military benefits are aggressively being recruited by career and for-profit colleges due to the powerful 90-10 incentive. But the recruitment is for the wrong reasons. This idea of Durbin is definitely rational as military benefits are nothing but federal funds.

In the short term, this will actually increase tuition costs in these colleges as they will be looking to ensure the 10 percent comes from sources that are not federal. In the long run however, if a proper method of accounting is put in place with more transparency, this will help the low priced and cost-effective higher education institutions to emerge stronger.

The proposed bill must be modified by Durbin in certain ways in the short term. For example, the policy must not be moved to 85-15 just to get the bill passed by garnering support. Bill must address not the revenue but actual people.

At present, 90-10 only results in a rise in tuition as colleges strive to cover costs. By focusing the 90-10 on people rather than on the revenue, we can make a lot of difference to the scenario. Schools will be able to manage without raising tuition and offer poor students an opportunity to study at lower costs as compared to those who can afford to pay full tuition.

Another factor to be taken into consideration is application of the 90-10 to all colleges and not just career and for-profit schools. This will ensure that for-profit companies focus on enhancing quality of education and strive to reduce costs. Uniform application of the rule also ensures complete elimination of bias against for-profit institutions in particular and capitalism on the whole.

A lot of money is being fed into the higher education system by our government. It is time the funds are utilized in a proper manner to provide high quality, affordable education for students from all strata of society.  The only option is to base access to federal grants and loans on not only tuition price but also on student satisfaction with regard to the cost and quality measures.