Times are tough for many American students trying to foot the bill for college, graduate school and career education programs.

As TIME Moneyland reports, state funding for higher education has fallen by nearly 8 percent over the past year.

That’s—gulp—$6 billion that schools in some 41 states are doing without, according to the annual Grapevine report from Illinois State University’s Center for the Study of Education Policy.

To make up the difference, many schools have jacked up tuition, and some are scaling back need-based financial-aid programs while enrolling more out-of-state students who pay higher tuition—making it harder for in-state students to get in.

So, what does President Obama propose to do about it?

Here’s a quick recap of this week’s State of the Union pitches to Congress:

• Extend the American Opportunity Tax Credit, which lets students write off up to $2,500 per year for tuition, fees, books and the like. It’s currently set to expire this year.
• Double the number of work-study jobs in the next five years.
• Prevent federal student loan rates from doubling this summer.
• Cut federal funding to schools that don’t rein in tuition hikes.

The president also called for a commitment to train 2 million Americans with skills that will lead directly to a job through partnerships like one between electronics and engineering giant Siemens and Central Piedmont Community College in North Carolina.

The school posted this gleefully long list of links to news and social media coverage on its homepage after the State of the Union.

As daunting as things are for so many debt-ridden students right now, there are glimmers of hope—and not in the form of election-year policy pitches.

The Project on Student Debt, an independent nonprofit that works to make college more affordable, has compiled a list of schools that have taken steps to improve their financial-aid offerings.

And from our blog archives, we offer:

• Money-saving tips for the going- back-to-school crowd
• Mistakes to avoid when applying for federal financial aid
• What to do about a financial aid snub
• Common college budget busters