College for All? Not Anymore.

In 2009 President Barack Obama used his first speech to Congress to ask “every American to commit to at least one year or more of higher education or career training,” touting postsecondary learning as a necessity for economic success.

Last month he had a very different message.

In a speech at the Democratic National Convention, Obama said that Vice President Kamala Harris, the party’s presidential nominee, “knows college shouldn’t be the only ticket to the middle class.” Obama also praised Tim Walz, the Minnesota governor and vice-presidential nominee, for removing the bachelor’s-degree requirement for some state jobs.