Kerry vows to boost college options

[CShine]

Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry says if he's elected president, 1 million more students will graduate from college during his first five years in office and he will bring a special focus to boosting opportunities for low-income and minority students.

Kerry's campaign says nearly half the hike in graduation rates will come from population increases, and he'll achieve the other half by bringing down the cost of education and creating other incentives to bring students to college and keep them there.

"We need to move toward the day when four years of college is as universal and affordable as a high school education is today," Kerry told the Rainbow-PUSH Coalition.

He said although college graduates will earn $900,000 more over their careers, less than a third of all Americans and less than a fifth of black Americans have a four-year degree.

http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~29805~2242073,00.html