Posted on 01/25/2015 4:10:04 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
The president’s plan to make community college free for everyone is the best news for the middle class in a long time.
President Obama this month gave the best State of the Union address of his presidency but it was largely written in disappearing ink. Like the vast majority of presidential speeches, little of it lingers.
But one proposal in the speech could prove historic. While Obama’s $60 billion plan for two free years of community college is dead-on-arrival in the Republican Congress, it is very much alive in American politics, where progressives now have an aspirational, easy-to-understand issue to rally around. When it’s finally signed into law by President Hillary Clinton or another Democrat in the White House, we’ll look back on the idea as Barack Obama’s GI Bill, a powerful engine for restoring the American middle class.
“Free” is always a crowd-pleaser and the idea is already wildly popular. In Tennessee, an astonishing 90 percent of high school seniors are enrolling in the state version, designed under a Republican governor and now promoted as a prototype by a Democratic president. After Obama first unveiled his plan while aboard Air Force One on January 8, the video broke the record for most downloads from his website. Not bad, considering that the White House has released more than 2,000 such videos—including cute ones of the president’s dog.
The excitement isn’t hard to figure. Even at the depths of the Great Recession, unemployment was relatively low among college-educated adults. Young Americans understand that they need some kind of degree after high school to join or stay in the imperiled middle-class. Otherwise they’re road kill in the global economy.
Obama was no doubt influenced on this issue by his first White House chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, who proposed the idea of two free years of college in a 2006 book. After being elected mayor of Chicago in 2011, Emanuel learned that area businesses would create more than 200,000 new jobs over the next decade but that most of Chicago’s 100,000 community college students weren’t qualified for them.
So Emanuel torched the existing community college system and replaced it with one connecting the colleges to 70 local business partners who help design curriculum. Each school specializes in an area—IT, business, health care, advanced manufacturing, hospitality, transportation and logistics. Now Chicago is on its way to doubling its community college graduation rate, though from a very low base.
Washington Post columnist Robert Samuelson, a longtime critic of what he calls the “college-for-all crusade,” argues that most jobs still don’t require a college degree or certificate. But Samuelson fails to notice that most good jobs do. And according to a Georgetown University study, by 2020 two thirds of all jobs will require at least some post-secondary training, which few employers are willing to provide (PDF).
Obama’s comparison to high school a century ago is an apt one. An industrial economy needed graduates with basic skills, so the idea of free high school (rare in the 19th Century) took root. Now, an information economy requires workers with the critical thinking skills and specialized training that requires 14 years—not 12—of formal education.
With high schools largely out of the vocational education business, the burden for preparing the workforce of the future has fallen to community colleges and the other two-year training and apprentice programs that would also be free under the president’s plan. This is true even for occupations that have not traditionally required a degree. Auto mechanics need IT training to fix today’s smart cars. Health care technicians require specialized coursework if they have any hopes of advancing. Warehouse workers must be schooled in logistics to meet their just-in-time delivery schedules.
You would think Republicans might get this—and that they might notice that federal support for higher education hasn’t always been a partisan issue. The original GI Bill offered free tuition to servicemen returning from World War II. Passed unanimously under FDR in 1944, the bill was the brainchild of Harry Colmery, a former American Legion commander and former chairman of the Republican National Committee.
Colmery and other backers were interested primarily in helping veterans, but they soon saw that the bill was doing much more. It was propelling the postwar economic boom and the dramatic expansion of the American middle class.
So Republicans voted to strengthen the GI Bill. In 1966, under LBJ, the law was expanded to include peacetime veterans. The vote was again unanimous. Ronald Reagan signed a further expansion in 1984 and George W. Bush another in 2008.
Republican presidents and lawmakers who backed these bills weren’t spendthrifts. And they believed, like today’s GOP, that education was largely a local issue. But they also knew from history what has made the country strong. They knew that it was their party’s first president, Abraham Lincoln, who signed the Morrill Act launching land grant colleges (now state universities), which originally trained students for careers in agricultural, mining and other growing occupations of the era.
Free community college is on a continuum with the Morrill Act and the GI Bill, but with one big caveat: While many fine community colleges are under-appreciated gateways to success, others just aren’t good enough to be further subsidized.
Their standards are so low that the diplomas they grant are often worthless in the marketplace. They outsource their instruction to poorly-paid adjuncts and offer too few courses connected to the needs of local employers. Most unforgiveable, their average six-year graduation rates are almost always below 50 percent (the average is around 30 percent), which means that more than half of their students are going into debt with little to show for it.
It’s not entirely the fault of the institutions. Hundreds of thousands of students graduate from high school academically unprepared for college, and those requiring (often deadly boring) remedial classes are much more likely to drop out. The personal and financial challenges confronting students who are frequently the first in their families to attend college are often overwhelming. And most community colleges, lacking affluent alumni and consistent support from state and local government, are strapped for cash.
But enough such schools are succeeding under tough conditions to put the rest on notice to pull up their socks. Any landmark bill—at the federal, state and local level—needs teeth: No money without dramatic improvements in curricula and graduation rates.
While details remain sketchy, the White House plan seems to get the point: “This proposal will require everyone to do their part: community colleges must strengthen their programs and increase the number of students who graduate, states must invest more in higher education and training, and students must take responsibility for their education, earn good grades, and stay on track to graduate.”
The biggest problem with the Obama plan is that it doesn’t call for blowing up the existing guidance/advisory system, which is a scandal. Many community colleges have a ratio of one guidance counselor for every 1,500 to 2,000 students (or more), a recipe for failure. By the time the college learns that a student is struggling, he or she has long since dropped out.
Sensible regulation should insist on much smaller advisor-student ratios, which would likely mean requiring faculty members, administrators, coaches and other employees to each take a certain number of advisees. That’s the practice in private colleges and a good early warning system for students at risk of dropping out.
Fixing this problem will require standing up to the powerful higher ed lobby, which offers lame excuses for why the guidance/advisory system can’t be overhauled. And the incentive structures must change. Right now, colleges have no financial reason to improve graduation rates. (Because big lecture prerequisites for freshmen are much less expensive for colleges than small upper-level seminars, they make more money on enrollment than completion.) Shaming the laggards by requiring that their graduation rates be posted would also help.
A model national bill would also insist that more credits be transferrable. Many colleges earn revenue by rejecting credits from distant schools so they can make students take the courses again. The problem is especially acute at for-profit schools, which need special supervision.
But these wrinkles can all be ironed out. The more basic arguments against the president’s idea don’t hold up under inspection. The first is cost: $60 billion over 10 years. That’s not chump change, but it isn’t as prohibitive as some of the post-State of the Union commentators suggested. It’s less than five percent of what we’ve spent in the last decade in Iraq and Afghanistan. Is restoring the middle class and preparing this country to compete internationally really less important?
The second major argument is that free college is another entitlement—a dirty word nowadays. We’ll be locked into paying for two years of college forever, we’re told. The same argument could have been used against Social Security, the GI Bill and Medicare, all of which were enacted before the pejorative “entitlements” came into common usage. Entitlements become problematic when their provisions are set in stone and their costs spiral out of control, neither of which need be inevitable. To guard against the budgetary miscalculations that have plagued other landmark programs, we’ll need regulations that prevent huge tuition increases.
Some liberal critics say the Obama plan should be more directed at the poor. They’re already eligible for Pell grants (to a maximum of $5,750 a year) but could use the money for supplies and to compensate for wages they might have earned had they not been in school. This is the old means test vs. universality argument, and the latter has the edge here. Middle class students are strapped, too. And the political argument remains relevant: eliminating middle class students from eligibility for free community college reduces the chances of passage from slim to none—no matter who’s president.
It’s true that pushing the poor toward community colleges risks worsening the problem of “undermatching”—poor students who are bright enough for four year colleges but don’t go. This can be compensated for by more vigorous recruitment. Overall, free community college would allow both poor and middle class students not to work as many part-time hours while in school, which makes it easier for them to graduate.
Even as the deficit is cut in half, myopic Republicans are likely to conclude that investing in the middle class isn’t affordable. (Notice how they never say that about new tax breaks for the wealthy.) This means that state and local support for free community college is the best option for now. Obama seems to recognize that his main task will be to advocate, not enact. “I want to spread that idea all across America, so that two years of college becomes as free and universal in America as high school is today,” he said in his speech.
That’s a big idea worthy of this president, and worthy of our attention long after the 2015 State of the Union Address is a dim memory.
Double face palm worthy.
what a political genius, and a farce
community college is almost free everywhere already
and at least at many, anyone who can’t pay the $46/unit fee or whatever (doesn’t hardly go over $150 anywhere)
can just sign off on a Fee Waiver form
or get a scholarship, work study job, loan, or Pell (federal) grant (free money) already!!!!!
all this would involve is shifting a few $ around from existing old funds to a new “ObamaColl” fund
meanwhile, he gets tons of free, almost all favorable political publicity from the MSM which, as usual, serves as O’s propoganda mouthpiece...instead of even spending 5 lousy minutes dialing their local community college and asking what the facts alreay are
investigative journalism? BS!
What is so difficult about paying people paying for their own community college tuition?
“President Obama this month gave the best State of the Union address of his presidency”
but I thought everything he said was the best...forever.
Here is the biggest irony. Look it up if you don’t believe it.
The average freshman and sophomore in college is taking core curriculum that was required in high school 20 years ago. In other words, in the last 20 years, our education system has fallen two years behind with regards to education. The first two years of college is still getting much of the math (Calculus, Statistics and Trig) and science that used to be taught at the high school level.
No go re-read the article and see if this all makes perfect sense.
Scary, I know.
You missed the other part of the plan, my FRiend. And this is what he is wanting. The 529 College savings plans that are currently free, are going to be taxed to pay for this plan.
OOOPS! Taxing a program 90% utilized by the middle class is raising taxes on the Middle Class. This punishes families that put away money for their kids college under the guise of no taxes. Screwed again!!!!
“Many community colleges have a ratio of one guidance counselor for every 1,500 to 2,000 students (or more), a recipe for failure. By the time the college learns that a student is struggling, he or she has long since dropped out. “
This, BTW, is complete bulls**t. I work in a community college part-time, and give early projects. If both are not completed, there is an intervention protocol I mark that IMMEDIATELY notifies the guidance to email the student and discuss it. Most CCs have this protocol built in to their networks AS WELL as things like Blackboard or Moodle that make oral notification of homework and quizzes a thing of the past.
I went to Santa Rosa (CA) Jr. College 1967-1970.
To take 15 units, you had to buy a Student Body card. $ 10.
There was no tuition as the school was supported by a regional property tax. Don’t know what they charge now but the tax is still collected on property.
Oh my!
I did miss his scheme to tax 529 college savings plans.
King Midas used to turn everything he touched to gold.
O turns everything he touches to sh*t
(I tried, I really really really tried to hope he would ‘grow into the job’ and turn out to be a credible president for his adopted USA ... I really really did try....)
Student Tuition Rate for Credit Offering
Full- or Part-Time Enrollment (per credit) Resident $139.00
Full- or Part-Time Enrollment (per credit) Nonresident $278.00
Audit (per credit) Resident $139.00
Audit (per credit) Nonresident $278.00
Career Supplemental Noncredit Courses (per contact hour) Market Rate
Continuing and General Adult Ed-Local Schools (per contact hour) Market Rate
Adult High School Diploma-Course Fee $100.00
Correspondence Course Fee $100.00
Nonresident tuition is 200% of resident rate.
http://catalog.dmacc.edu/content.php?catoid=2&navoid=84#Tuition_and_Fee_Charges
Let’s not forget that every penny put into a 529 has already been taxed.
Financial Aid
The California community college system is funded by the State of California. Students who meet certain state residency requirements pay an enrollment fee and may qualify for a BOG Fee Waiver to cover certain costs associated with enrollment fees. The BOG Fee Waiver, however, will NOT cover the Health Services fee or the Associated Students membership fees. In addition to the BOG Fee Waiver, Santa Monica College offers students a variety of financial assistance, which includes both federal and state financial aid to help pay for some of the basic costs of living while attending college. Many of these financial aid programs have early deadline dates and require time to process the application forms. Be sure to start the financial aid process as soon as possible.
Residents:
$46.00 per unit State Enrollment Fee (subject to change);
Non-Residents (both Domestic & International Students)
$325 per unit ($46 State Enrollment Fee + $255 for Non-Resident Tuition + $24 Capital Outlay Fee)
Assembly Bill 947 Fee Exemption Information
$50.50 Student Services fees (includes, $18.00 Health fee; $13.00 I.D. card; $19.50 Associated Student fee). (*Fees subject to change)
A parking decal for the main campus costs $45 (optional)
Under certain circumstances, students who meet specific California residency requirements may be exempt from paying enrollment fees if they file a BOG Fee Waiver application with the Financial Aid Office. For example, if you can document that you are a recipient of Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF), Social Security Income (SSI), or General Relief (GR), or that your income meets specific criteria, you may be exempt. Please contact the Financial Aid Office before starting enrollment procedures to determine your eligibility for a BOG Fee Waiver.
ALSO AVAILABLE: Federal Pell Grants (free money), Student Loans (supposed to be repaid some day, if Obama doesn’t ‘waive’ that), many additional scholarships, grants, and work study programs. Note that an additional problem on campuses nowadays is the number of students who are there to collect on all the grant and loan money (the latter in the hope of never having to repay it, as Obama has repeatedly hinted at ‘ordering’). These folks sit in classes, taking up space.... often not studying much at all, just making sure they get their C’s so they can get another grant and another big loan check the next semester, is all.
(California data, applies state-wide at 108 community colleges)
here is all anyone could want to know about the Fee Waiver program, which we hear is utilizied by between a third and 3/4 of all students (depending on campus, there are 108 campuses)....
http://www.sdcity.edu/CollegeServices/StudentServices/FinancialAid/BoardofGovernorsWaiverBOGW
note there are many ways to qualify for the Fee Waiver, and also please see the long list of links on the right side of the webpage ....for info about all sorts of loans, grants, scholarships, and other forms of financial aid
thanks
Obama is an idiot playing President, while the rest of the world is on fire, or at least smoking.
Free Comedy College is a direct assault on the middle class for several reasons.
1) it soaks the middle class to pay for it.
2) it cheapens the value of an associate’s degree (which isn’t very high anyway, but it’s better than nothing). Also, it will fill the curriculum full of more left-tarded non-learning. to waste even more time.
The quality of instruction will depend on the instructor and perhaps some community college courses are equivalent to lower-level four-year college courses (there are some people with Ph.D.'s teaching at community colleges) but the quality of the other students in the class is likely to be lower so it will be easier to get a good grade if the instructor is under pressure to get good scores on student evaluations.
I took a few courses at a community college in the 1960s, before the era of grade inflation, and they were well-taught. I remember one test in a History class where two of us in the whole class got above 80, and the rest got below 70. Nowadays the instructor might have to grade on the curve in such a situation.
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