One of the key points of President Obama’s State of the Union Speech delivered last Tuesday was to “shake up” America’s system of higher education. He pledged his administration’s support to make college more affordable, saying that,“no middle-class kid [should be] priced out of a college education.” 
Earlier last month Governor Bobby Jindal announced his plans to boost the funding to Louisiana universities by $142 million. This includes a $40 million workplace incentive fund to prepare students for jobs in high demand in the America’s workforce.
High-demand degree programs, such as engineering or pre-medicine, can expect an increase in funding, which could mean better equipment and improved facilities.
Governor Jindal announced that the increase in funding would mostly come from an increase in school tuition. While TOPS will cover this increase for Louisiana residents, out-of-state students can expect higher tuition costs in the coming years.
Student loan debt is higher than it has ever been. US News reported that the class of 2012 graduated with, on average, around $30,000 of debt per student.