{"id":4190,"date":"2015-01-09T21:31:01","date_gmt":"2015-01-09T21:31:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/impact.ucdsehd.net\/?p=4190"},"modified":"2015-01-09T21:31:01","modified_gmt":"2015-01-09T21:31:01","slug":"obama-to-propose-two-free-years-of-community-college-for-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sehd.ucdenver.edu\/impact\/2015\/01\/09\/obama-to-propose-two-free-years-of-community-college-for-students\/","title":{"rendered":"Obama to propose two free years of community college for students"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 14px\">  <\/div>\n<div><span style=\"font-size: 10px\">(Originally from&nbsp;<span style=\"font-family: proxima-nova, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif\">&nbsp;<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.politico.com\/story\/2015\/01\/barack-obama-free-community-college-114094.html#ixzz3OLHFqaxA\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.politico.com\">http:\/\/www.politico.com<\/a><\/a>&nbsp;)<\/span><\/div>\n<p>  <span id=\"OLK_SRC_BODY_SECTION\" style=\"font-size: 14px\">  <\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"story-intro format-s\" style=\"margin-bottom: 1.25em;margin-right: 839px;font-family: proxima-nova, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size: 16px\">\n<div class=\"summary\">\n<footer class=\"meta\" style=\"margin-top: 0.5em\">\n<p class=\"byline\">  By&nbsp;<span class=\"vcard\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.politico.com\/reporters\/AllieGrasgreen.html\" rel=\"author\" class=\"url fn\">ALLIE   GRASGREEN<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p>  &nbsp;  <\/p>\n<p class=\"timestamp\">  1\/8\/15 6:48 PM EST<\/p>\n<p>  &nbsp;  <\/p>\n<p class=\"updated\">  Updated&nbsp;1\/9\/15 8:44 AM EST<\/p>\n<\/footer>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>  President Barack Obama will need the approval of Congress to realize&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/blog\/2015\/01\/08\/president-proposes-make-community-college-free-responsible-students-2-years\" target=\"_blank\">his   proposal<\/a>&nbsp;for making two years of community college free for students.<\/p>\n<p>  So far, that plan doesn\u2019t have an official price tag \u2014 other than \u201csignificant,\u201d according to White House officials. 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.<\/p>\n<p>  But administration officials insisted on a call with reporters Thursday evening that \u201cthis is a proposal with bipartisan appeal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>  Case in point: Republican Gov. Bill Haslam, whose brainchild&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/tennesseepromise.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\">Tennessee   Promise<\/a>program strongly influenced Obama\u2019s proposal. Beginning this year, any high school graduate in that state is eligible for two years of free community college tuition under the Tennessee Promise.<\/p>\n<p>  Obama, alongside Vice President Joe Biden and second lady Jill Biden, will tout his proposal dubbed \u201cAmerica\u2019s College Promise\u201d during a visit Pellissippi State Community College in Knoxville, Tenn., on Friday.<\/p>\n<p>  \u201cWhat I\u2019d like to do is to see the first two years of community college free for everybody who\u2019s willing to work for it,\u201d Obama said in a White House&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/vine.co\/v\/Op6YEKWLOXP\" target=\"_blank\">video<\/a>posted   Thursday evening. \u201cIt\u2019s something we can accomplish, and it\u2019s something that will train our workforce so that we can compete with anybody in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>  The president\u2019s&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/blog\/2015\/01\/08\/president-proposes-make-community-college-free-responsible-students-2-years\" target=\"_blank\">proposal<\/a>&nbsp;would   make two years of community college free for students of any age with a C&#043; average who attend school at least half-time and who are making \u201csteady progress\u201d toward their degree.<\/p>\n<p>  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 \u201cpromising and evidence-based institutional reforms\u201d to improve student outcomes.<\/p>\n<p>  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 \u2014 assuming Congress agrees to the plan in the first place.<\/p>\n<p>  \u201cI hope we\u2019ve 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,\u201d the president said in the video.<\/p>\n<p>  Obama said his online announcement was \u201ca little preview\u201d of his plans for the Jan. 20 State of the Union address. The cost details will be in the president\u2019s 2016 budget proposal, White House director Cecilia Mu\u00f1oz said.<\/p>\n<p>  Mu\u00f1oz said Obama aims to make college \u201cthe norm in the same way high school is the norm now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>  The Tennessee Promise idea has, needless to say, caught on. And Education Undersecretary Ted Mitchell said on Thursday\u2019s call that he hopes Obama\u2019s plan will encourage more states to start similar programs.<\/p>\n<p>  But the idea is not without critics.<\/p>\n<p>  The Institute for College Access and Success, which is typically in step with the Obama administration,&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/views.ticas.org\/?p=1421\" target=\"_blank\">called<\/a>&nbsp;the   proposal \u201ca wolf in sheep\u2019s clothing.\u201d Among the problems, TICAS says, is that the more substantial costs of college \u2014 living expenses, textbooks and transportation \u2014 are typically left out of the deal.<\/p>\n<p>  And Bryce McKibben, a former Association of Community College Trustees policy analyst who recently became a policy adviser to Democrats on the Senate education committee, has&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.politicopro.com\/tipsheet\/education\/?id=7460\" target=\"_blank\">noted<\/a>&nbsp;potential   flaws. For instance, the program could end up doing more for less needy students than those who need it the most, because low-income applicants may already be covered by Pell grants and other federal aid.<\/p>\n<p>  Since state appropriations plummeted during the economic recession, students and families have been forced to pay more for college. From 2008-12, public college funding in 26 states fell by 5 percent or more, according to a recent Center for American Progress&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/cdn.americanprogress.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/PublicCollege-report.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">report<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>  Advocacy groups including CAP, which has counseled the Obama administration on higher education issues, have promoted ideas to spur both federal and state funding to boost college enrollment.<\/p>\n<p>  \u201cThe first order of business is to make college more affordable \u2014 and by affordable, we mean basically make it free for low- and moderate-income families through federal investments and stimulating state investments,\u201d David Bergeron, vice president of postsecondary   education at CAP, told POLITICO earlier this week.<\/p>\n<p>  At the same time, Bergeron had some reservations about Friday\u2019s announcement.<\/p>\n<p>  \u201cI don\u2019t want to just have our low-income and least prepared students going to community colleges,\u201d he said, \u201cbecause those community colleges are the least resourced.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>  But Thomas J. Snyder, president of the massive Ivy Tech Community College in Indiana, says he fully supports the idea, which he called \u201ca game-changer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>  \u201cWe have ground to make up against other countries, and this is a big first step in doing just that,\u201d Snyder said in an email. \u201cIt will make the goal of achieving a college degree more attainable for more Americans \u2014 whether it be a two-year degree that leads   to a good-paying job or the first step toward a more affordable four-year option.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>  Haslam and Sen. Lamar Alexander will both be on hand at Friday\u2019s event. Alexander plugged the Tennessee Promise on the Senate floor Wednesday. But the newly elected Senate education committee chair also said that simplifying the federal financial aid process   is \u201cthe one thing the federal government can do to give more opportunity to Americans, particularly in community colleges.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>  Also Friday, Obama plans to announce the new American Technical Training Fund to \u201cexpand innovating, high-quality technical training programs across the country,\u201d according to a White House release. The program will award programs that partner with employers   and include \u201cwork-based learning opportunities,\u201d provide accelerated training and accommodate part-time work.<\/p>\n<p>  The president has some limited authority to steer Department of Labor funds toward skills training that focuses on partnerships with employers and accelerated training. But a larger investment would need to be authorized by Congress, and in recent years both   chambers have more or less ignored Obama\u2019s proposals for investments in jobs-driven training, such as a 2015 budget proposal for a $1.5 billion \u201cCommunity College Job-Driven Training Fund\u201d that went nowhere.<\/p>\n<p>  <em style=\"margin: 0px;padding: 0px;border: 0px;font-family: inherit;font-size: inherit;font-variant: inherit;line-height: inherit;vertical-align: baseline\">Nirvi Shah and Maggie Severns contributed to this report<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>  <\/span>  <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(Originally from&nbsp;&nbsp;http:\/\/www.politico.com&nbsp;) By&nbsp;ALLIE GRASGREEN &nbsp; 1\/8\/15 6:48 PM EST &nbsp; Updated&nbsp;1\/9\/15 8:44 AM EST President Barack Obama will need the approval of Congress to realize&nbsp;his proposal&nbsp;for making two years of community college free for students. So far, that plan doesn\u2019t have an official price tag \u2014 other than \u201csignificant,\u201d according to White House officials. If [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sehd.ucdenver.edu\/impact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sehd.ucdenver.edu\/impact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sehd.ucdenver.edu\/impact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sehd.ucdenver.edu\/impact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/75"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sehd.ucdenver.edu\/impact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4190"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sehd.ucdenver.edu\/impact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4190\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sehd.ucdenver.edu\/impact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sehd.ucdenver.edu\/impact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sehd.ucdenver.edu\/impact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}