The Campaign for College Affordability is a group of concerned students, teachers, parents, professionals and organizations representing working people who are impacted by the rising cost of college, the lack of adequate student aid, the growing burden of student and parent college loan debt and the increasing numbers of Americans who find higher education out of reach. Through the use of public education, grassroots organizing, lobbying and educating the media, we are working to draw public and political attention to the issues of college affordability and access, growing student loan debt, worker retraining in the new economy, and reduced investment.
In 2010, the coalition will help coordinate federal policy, organizing, media, and public education in support of the following issues and legislation:
- Affordable and accessible higher education for all students, workers and their families
- General funding for higher education institutions
- Worker retraining to help fill middle income and new economy jobs
- Community college initiatives and sector partnerships
- Loan affordability and forgiveness programs
- State fiscal relief in order to help institutions and avoid enrollment caps, faculty cuts, and tuition increases
- Support for good policy proposals, such as the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, a reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act, the Jobs for Main Street Act and their counterparts
- Push for higher education and workforce training initiatives and investments in the FY 2010 budget and other relevant legislation
To accomplish these goals, the campaign will:
- Work with coalition partners—bringing together students, unions and advocacy groups—to coordinate support for legislation on higher education and worker retraining
- Inform public education efforts on federal policy through creation and dissemination of materials including blog posts, fact sheets, issue backgrounders, etc.
- Hold regular calls and meetings with coalition groups and allies to strategize on good and bad policy proposals and how to best support or oppose them
- Continue to reach out to new groups and deepen existing commitment of organizations to the issues and campaign
- Organize media, grassroots advocacy and lobbying in support of FY 2010 budget that prioritizes higher education and jobs funding
- Develop media worthy research reports in cooperation with participating organizations
- Increase the coalition’s web presence through www.collegeaffordabilitynow.org, as well as the Facebook fan page and Twitter account
