Secretary of Education Arne Duncan expressed his concerns with college graduation rates, FAFSA and the economy Oct. 4 during a teleconference with student journalists from across the country.

“Just one generation ago, we led the world in college graduates,” Duncan said, echoing President Barack Obama from a week earlier. “In just one generation, we have dropped to 12th.”

Duncan then named several programs the Obama administration had put in place, such as the loan forgiveness program for those that work in public service and restructuring of school loans, to help ease student’s financial strain.

He was joined by Gaston Caperton, president of the College Board, and Jason Rzepka, vice president of MTV public affairs.

The teleconference was to promote the “Get Schooled College Affordability Challenge,” which offers $10,000 for any college student that can come up with a better way to navigate through FAFSA’s “maze” of a website, as Duncan referred to it.

College Board claims that 2 million college students do not apply for federal loans. The three men attributed the problem partially to the confusing FAFSA application process.

“The (FAFSA) form was a barrier,” Duncan said. “It was way too long. So we eliminated questions. And I am thrilled with progress made, but we have to go further.”

The three also answered questions on the state of education on every level. On that topic, Caperton spoke honestly.

“I am going to be very blunt with you, the difficulty is that we have lived beyond our means,” Caperton said. “We’ve under-saved compared to other people across the world.

“I think it is very important we are blunt. It is a tough thing. I think people will have to pay more taxes and rebalance budgets that have not been balanced in a while.”