Sitting down for an hour Tuesday night to watch President Barack Obama make seemingly empty promises and talk smack on Republicans may be too much to ask from a busy college student. So for those of you who did not watch it, I’ll simply fill you in a little bit about what you missed.

Although much of the president’s speech focused on matters of bipartisanship, tax reform and the “rising middle class”, I thought I would give you a break from all that to talk about his proposals for higher education instead. 

In his State of the Union address, the president said, “Taxpayers cannot continue to subsidize higher and higher and higher costs of higher education. Colleges must do their part to keep costs down, and it’s our job to make sure they do.”

To help capitalize on that “promise,” Obama urged Congress to establish a new set of criteria that institution accreditors would have to follow that would take into account the prices and educational value institutions offer. This could mean that more expensive institutions that offer less of an educational value get cuts in federal funding.

Although I would absolutely love cheaper tuition for everyone, the probability of keeping tuition down while decreasing spending and all without sacrificing the high quality of education America already offers is slim to none.

America has by far the best schools the world has to offer, and students from countries all over the world flock to American colleges and universities. If the federal government gets more involved by placing cost restrictions and educational requirements on schools, the institutions themselves may have to sacrifice quality in areas such as athletics, recreation and facilities just to keep up with government-mandated stipulations. 

Not only does this take away opportunity for students to get a well-rounded “college experience,” but it could force schools to eliminate revenue-generating programs just to keep their accreditation and continue to receive federal funding. 

Although there have been increases in tuition and school costs in America, I don’t think it’s yet time for the clumsy hand of government to become overly involved by holding accreditation hostage. Higher education has had its share of setbacks in this recession, but it is nowhere near broken, and as the old adage goes, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”