President Obama (formerly Professor Obama) feels right at home in a classroom. His State of the Union’s universal community college plan aims to give millions of Americans the same feeling – without the side effect of crushing debt.

The president’s education proposals such as broad early childhood education have often floundered, but the $1.2 trillion hole of Americans’ current student loan debt has become impossible to ignore. Despite lower tuition costs, community college students default at twice the rate of four-year students.

Opening up a baseline bridge to higher education could give even more people a reliable path up the economic ladder, but the proposal wouldn’t cover non-tuition expenses. And some lawmakers won’t be happy with its estimated $60 billion price tag.

But our professorial president clearly believes this is a course the country needs. Now, it’s a test for Congress to take.