At the National Press Club in D.C. Thursday afternoon, Presidential hopeful Governor Rick Perry mapped out his economic and job creating blue print.

Unlike typical jobs plans, Perry addressed issues ranging from criminal justice reform, race relations, and the cost of education.

While serving as Texas’ Governor, Perry challenged a handful of Texas colleges to create a degree plan that only cost $10,000.

I wrote about the $10,000 degree when it was being kicked around. Now seems as good a time as any to re-explore it.

Revamping Higher Education: The $10,000 College Degree

Student loan debt has risen to approximately $1 trillion, surpassing America’s credit card debt. In the midst of prolonged economic downturn, the cost of higher education continues to creep upwards. In an effort to mitigate the looming damage of a deflated higher education bubble, Texas Governor, Rick Perry, asked Texas colleges to come up with a way to provide a $10,000 college degree. It’s been a year since Governor Perry issued the charge and several colleges have risen to the challenge.

Thomas Lindsay, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Higher Education at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, released a comprehensive report exploring Governor Perry’s seemingly impossible idea. The report covers the economic factors affecting higher education, including the little known fact that, “approximately one-third of all higher education institutions have unsustainable business models.” Finding better, more efficient ways of providing quality education would benefit not only students, but colleges and universities as well.

“Today, the deficiencies in the higher education business model have become manifest. During the past quarter-century, average college tuitions have risen roughly 440 percent. Unsurprisingly, student loan debt has followed the same upward arc.” Dr. Lindsay posits. The problem will only grow worse. As state budgets continue to cut funding to state schools in order to pay for growing deficits and in preparation for Obamacare, schools ought to look at ways to reduce the cost to the student as well as reducing administrative costs of the programs they offer.