Posted on 01/08/2015 4:39:51 PM PST by 9thLife
President Barack Obama on Friday will propose making two years of community college free for students. In a White House video posted Thursday evening, Obama said he wanted to offer “a little preview” of his plans for the Jan. 20 State of the Union address.
“What I’d like to do is to see the first two years of community college free for everybody who’s willing to work for it,” Obama said. “It’s something we can accomplish, and it’s something that will train our workforce so that we can compete with anybody in the world.”
The proposal would make two years of community college free for students with a C+ average who attend school at least half-time and who are making “steady progress” toward their degree.
Obama will visit Pellissippi Community College in Tennessee on Friday. Beginning this year, any state high school graduate is eligible for two years of free community college tuition under the Tennessee Promise. Federal funding would cover three-quarters of the average cost of community college, and Obama is asking states to pick up the rest of the tab — assuming Congress agrees to the plan in the first place. “I hope we’ve got the chance to make sure that Congress gets behind these kinds of efforts to make sure that even as we rebound and grow in 2015, that it benefits everybody and not just some,” the president said in the video.
To be eligible, community colleges would have to offer academic programs that fully transfer credits to local public four-year colleges and universities or training programs with high graduation rates that lead to in-demand degrees and certificates. Community colleges must also adopt “promising and evidence-based institutional reforms” to improve student outcomes.
If all 50 states participate, the proposal could benefit 9 million students each year and save students an average of $3,800 in tuition, the White House said. Nirvi Shah contributed to this report.
This is a bold step forward by our leaders. I'm glad us taxpayers have our 'free' fund on standby to fix all our problems. It is sitting there. Right next our social security and medicare funding.
Gosh I'm sure other innovative ideas like infrastructure improvement and fastrack trade authority for the President is some of the other offerings for his state of the union speech. No doubt other ideas include illegal alien funding and Obamacare improvements.
Constitutionally clueless Constitution “expert” Obama once again wrongly ignores the following. The states have never delegated to the feds, expressly via the Constitution, the specific power to appropriate revenues for vote-winning intrastate schooling purposes.
State lawmakers are the ones who should be trying to win votes from college students by promising to pay for schooling based on state revenues.
Exactly. It’s like needing a new toilet so you hire the plumbing company that totally failed at installing your last one.
Free? Does that mean that faculty, administration and maintenance will all work for nothing?
because of problems finding and retaining students no one will get less that a c+ unless he or she dies
I really am waiting for the time they announce forgiveness of student loan debt by joining paramilitary youth organizations. Slo-mo trainwreck.
Who’s paying for this? Does it matter?
34 billion dollars is just chump change.
And Moochelle decides what they eat. It’s like tag-team wrestling.
No I think he means get a passing grade.
Now you know where they’re gonna put all those under 18 illegal aliens when they’re “college” age.
As I recall, California had free community college back in the 50’s.
What federal “funding”? Just add it to the deficit.
And the money for this will come from WHERE? The great great grandchildren of the current generation in kindergarten, that is where. And that is only if the spending stops. The country is on a 7 / 11 rule, give them 7, they spend 11.
This is more insanity spread by a man who reads from the TOTUS. A man who has never ever had a job. A man whose background has been completely obliterated. One has to ask, are the American people insane? The answer of course is no. They have simply turned their lives over to the Prince of this World in exchange for “safety” and “protection” and “freedom from want.” All things that the Prince of this World cannot deliver. Godspeed.
Free Communist College.
Spit.
I’m retired but, hey, sign me up.
Free= other’s money.
Obama is the black Santa Claus with other people’s money. How compassionate of the Arab, Nigerian, communist, grifter!
Great, taxpayers can pay to teach illegals how to make pottery. That’s pretty much all you get from a community college.
For liberals everything is free because it all comes from someone else.
If this goes through then all of use who already paid for at least two years of college in the past should be able to apply for a refund plus interest.
It’s only for illegal aliens though.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.