Obama reaches out to Middle Class families fed up with college costs

As a fall budget showdown with Congress looms, President Obama is working to ratchet up his profile with Americans as a champion to the Middle Class. Today, expect to hear talk about skyrocketing college tuition costs as the Obama administration lays out its plan to hold universities more accountable.

It’s clear the Obama White House is hoping this populist approach will help make gains with Americans who are fed up with out-of-control tuition costs.

In Illinois, this affects more than 1.2 million students who are enrolled in higher education institutions, according to numbers released by the White House today.

The average cost last year? $24,330 in Illinois.

“And according to estimates from The Institute for College Access and Success, graduating seniors who borrowed to attend college in Illinois left school with an average of $26,470 in debt,” says the White House.

Now ask students how many actually land jobs after they rack up all that debt.

Here’s some highlights of Obama’s plan:

• Tie financial aid to college performance, starting with publishing new college ratings before the 2015 school year.

• Challenge states to fund public colleges based on performance.

• Hold students and colleges receiving student aid responsible for making progress toward a degree.