pending from all these non-Federal sources is staggering. Spending for higher education now consumes about 40 percent of all money spent in America for education.
4） It is by no means clear that the performance of many of our colleges and universities justifies this level of expenditure. As I said on the occasion of Harvard‘
s 350th anniversary， too many students fail to receive the education they deserve at our nation’s universities. The real problem is not lack of money but failure of vision.
5） Unfortunately， when it comes to higher education， this distinction is frequently lost Stanford University‘s vague justification for increased charges – “new knowledge is inherently more expensive” – only underscores the lack of focus and purpose at some of our nation’s most prestigious universities.
6） Higher education is not underfunded. It is under-accountable and underproductive. Our students deserve better than this. They deserve an education commensurate with the large sums paid by parents and taxpayers and donors.
7） That our universities are places where students can receive a good education， or at least learn a lot， I have no doubt. But too often our universities leave education to chance – a good professor here and a great course there. There is too little real and sustained attention to education in the broader sense， to making sure that when our students leave after four years they leave as educated men and women.
8） It is also false to assert， as some have， that the Reagan Administration‘s student aid policies deprive disadvantaged students of the opportunity to attend college. In fact， the Administration has consistently sought to redirect aid to the neediest students.
9） Under the Administration‘s fiscal 1988 budget proposal， all students presently receiving aid would continue to be eligible for the same dollar amount of aid. One in six of all college students would still be eligible to receive Federal grants. Those less needy would still have access to aid in the form of loans.
10） One particular Administration proposal， Income Contingent Loans， represents the most serious attempt to improve student aid in 15 years. The loans would permit repayment schedules to be tailored to a student‘s income. A graduate’s payments would never have to exceed 15 percent of his adjusted gross income， and he could have as long as necessary to repay.
11） An advantage of the Administration‘s proposals is that they would help make colleges and universities accountable to the prime beneficiaries of their services – the students.
12） Because students would pay a market-based interest rate， they would bear the true cost of borrowing the additional capital needed to finance tuition increases. Instead of insulating colleges and universities form such market forces， the Administration‘s policies would make colleges and universities more readily accountable to them.
