This year President Barack Obama appeared at Northern Virginia Community College to sign a major section of what most people have been calling his health care reform bill. But this section had absolutely nothing to do with insurance or any other aspect of health care. On the other hand, it has a lot to do with helping students get educational money for college in the very immediate future.

This year President Barack Obama appeared at Northern Virginia Community College to sign a major section of what most people have been calling his health care reform bill. But this section had absolutely nothing to do with insurance or any other aspect of health care. On the other hand, it has a lot to do with helping students get educational college grants and scholarships in the very immediate future.

If anyone paid attention, the actual title of the bill Obama signed was "The Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act". The second half of that title was grossly ignored by most media pundits, but if it goes through as planned it will have an incredibly positive impact on the future of education as a whole, including online colleges.

Admittedly, a considerable amount of the education sections of the bill have to do with elementary and secondary schools. At the same time, who can deny that if this part of the education system isn't overhauled, the prospects of having primed students for graduate and post-graduate education becomes slim, if not none.

The key bit of legislation though revolves around federal grants. Back in the day, when students applied for them, they got the money straight from the federal government. When the legislature that initially created student law systems was signed by then President Lyndon Johnson in 1965, students got their loans directly from the federal government, which also administered them.

After a time, though, it was felt costs could be saved if the money was administered through banks. Over time, the banks felt they could charge higher rates than was initially planned. As the interest rates escalated, so did the number of loans that began to default. This was then coupled with the present day recession, and the government began to really lose money.

This new legislation returns all administration back to the government. Obama expects less defaults due to lowered interest rates, and the money the government will generate from these loans can be plowed back into Pell Grant and related grants and scholarships. If all goes according to plan the Pell will go from a ceiling of $5,350 to $6,000 by 2011. Obviously, one of the people who will be keeping an eye on all this is the college financial officer, who should be consulted on this.

Obama also announced a portion of money saved will go to online and community colleges for additional scholarships and grants. These schools cost as much as 60% less than the national universities. All the school has to prove is it is an accredited Title IV institution.

"For a long time, our student loan system has worked for banks and financial institutions", Obama said that day. "Today, we're finally making our student loan system work for students and our families. But we're also doing something more. From the moment I was sworn into office, I've spoken about the urgent need for us to lay a new foundation for our economy and for our future...we can rightly say the foundation on which America's future will be built is stronger than it was one year ago.