As Feds Fight Over Higher Education, Florida Innovates | Opinion

This election season, Americans are looking to national leaders for their plans to fix higher education. However, states — not Washington — have been the ones taking creative ideas seriously to address our current college crisis. Over 60% say they lack confidence in higher education, student debt in the U.S. is now over $1.7 trillion, the average public university student borrows over $32,000 to obtain a bachelor’s degree, and in-state tuition and fees at public universities, often seen as the most “affordable” option, have increased by a whopping 158% over the last 20 years. Eric Bledsoe is a senior fellow at the Florida-based Foundation for Government Accountability. Moreover, many of these students are not getting much for the rising costs.