Obama urged other states to follow Tennessee, Indiana and Ohio in offering more funds to colleges that do a better job of preparing students for graduation and a job.
He also proposed a broad new government rating system for colleges that would judge schools on their affordability and could be used to allocate federal financial aid.
“We can’t price the middle class — and people working to get into the middle class — out of a college education,” Obama said during a speech at the University at Buffalo.
Tennessee is in the third year of linking funds for public colleges to student outcomes — including progress toward graduation and actual graduation rates — instead of how many people fill the seats.
