"For higher education, 2009 was a time of lofty goals and harsh realities, of major policy shifts in Washington and financial struggle on campuses nationwide.
In Washington, President Barack Obama called for the United States again to lead the world in college attainment by 2020. Congress poured billions of stimulus dollars into research and student financial aid and reshaped the federal student loan system. Veterans enjoyed vast new benefits and student borrowers with low incomes or public service jobs got new flexibility paying down their debts.
But the defining images of 2009 were thousands of miles away, in California: Students cramming into overcrowded classrooms, parents protesting tuition hikes, activists occupying buildings and breaking windows."
In Washington, President Barack Obama called for the United States again to lead the world in college attainment by 2020. Congress poured billions of stimulus dollars into research and student financial aid and reshaped the federal student loan system. Veterans enjoyed vast new benefits and student borrowers with low incomes or public service jobs got new flexibility paying down their debts.
But the defining images of 2009 were thousands of miles away, in California: Students cramming into overcrowded classrooms, parents protesting tuition hikes, activists occupying buildings and breaking windows."