Obama Administration to Launch Value Rating System for College

Sounds like a way to direct students to ones with the most subsidies

The nation is facing a crisis in terms of college affordability and student debt, President Obama said Thursday as he unveiled a set of new federal education initiatives, some of which he can launch without the help of Congress.

"We understand that in the face of greater and greater competition, in a knowledge-based economy, a higher education is more important than ever," the president said at the University at Buffalo. "A higher education is the single best investment you can make in your future," Mr. Obama said, but the high cost of education has been "a barrier and a burden for too many American families."

The speech marked his first stop on a two-day bus tour through New York and Pennsylvania, during which he'll visit schools to pitch his three new proposals: a new ratings system for colleges, encouraging innovation in education, and making it easier for students to repay their federal loans.