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Under the plan, colleges and universities would be rated on their affordability, graduation rates and the success of alumni in the job market. Federal dollars would be directed to those schools that offer "the biggest bang for the buck."

The president will spend the next two days on a bus tour of New York and Pennsylvania that includes stops at three colleges and a high school. At each stop, he'll be talking about ways to keep higher education costs down.

The majority of students at every income level except those whose families make more than $100,000 received some type of federal aid, says the National Center for Education Statistics.

Harrisburg is auctioning off thousands of items that were supposed to be included in a failed museum — including artifacts said to have ties to Wyatt Earp, Jesse James and Buffalo Bill. City leaders hope the auction will put a dent in Harrisburg's $370 million in debt.

Some companies offer employees one-on-one financial counseling. The service can be revealing.

Rates on federally subsidized Stafford loans, which help low and middle-income college students, doubled on July 1. There is now pressure for a deal to undo the increase. NPR's David Greene talks to Matthew Chingos, a fellow at the Brookings Institution's Brown Center on Education Policy.

Interest rates on government-backed college loans are set to double July 1 — unless Congress agrees on a fix before then. The president is expected to urge Congress on Friday to block that increase.

Jeffrey Selingo, an editor with The Chronicle of Higher Education, argues that American colleges have lost their way. In College (Un)bound, he describes the challenges facing American higher education and takes a close look at what college students are getting in return for their tuition.

The Congressional Budget Office projects the deficit will drop below 4 percent of GDP next year and below 2.5 percent in 2015. Still, despite the improvement in the short run, the federal government faces long-term deficits, mostly tied to health care costs.

The International Monetary Fund has lowered its projections for global economic growth, including in the United States, citing sharp cuts in government spending and the struggling eurozone.