Washington — President Barack Obama on Thursday, Aug. 22, proposed a new plan to tackle soaring higher education costs with a system that would rate colleges and universities, based on their value for the money students spend and tie those ratings to disbursement of federal student aid.

The president, who has spent much of the summer trotting out new ideas to rev up the economy, will unveil his proposals at the start of a campaign-like bus tour through New York and Pennsylvania that will include speeches and a question-and-answer session with students.

Tuition costs at U.S. colleges and universities have been skyrocketing, forcing students and families to take on more debt to afford a college degree.

The average annual cost of in-state tuition and fees for 2013 at four-year public universities was $8,655, up 4.8 percent from 2012, according to a survey from the College Board released this month.

Obama’s plan would institute a ratings system before the 2015 school year that would allow students and parents to select schools based on the best value.

It would push Congress to tie federal student aid to college performance, creating an incentive for schools to keep their costs in check.

The plan would also include provisions, allowing those paying off student loan debt to limit their payments to 10 percent of their monthly income.