Obama's Free Community College Idea Summary

In “The Argument for Tuition-Free College,” Keith Ellison addresses the matter of free-tuition for colleges and universities in America. The high cost of tuition increasing inequality and the largest personal debt in the country, student loans, are the main two problems Ellison discussed. Claiming that minorities are less likely to succeed in the community is one of Ellison’s ways to support the issue. He promotes his argument with two solutions. In the first one he explains how to eliminate student loan debt. Ellison uses free primary and secondary schooling as an example to explain his second solution.

The debate of whether community college should be free or not has been going on for many years. For the most part, many students have been able to have free education even if the are low income or high income. Most students are able to have equal educational opportunity to be able to learn for around 12 years. If it has been going on for 12 years, then why not make higher education free as well. In the article written by Joanne Jacobs titled, “As He Promotes It, Some Question Obama’s Free Community College Idea” discusses the main arguments on whether Obama’s plan of making community college free plan can be a benefit or a waste of money. Community college offers the ability to be able to finish one’s first 2 years of their general general education plan at a free or reduced price compared to completing general ed a a 4 year institution. Community college should be free because it allows lower income students the ability to have their tuition paid as well as their books and it allows students to be able to earn their bachelor's at a better rate.

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First of all, the money issue is the big problem to the government. Taxpayers are one of the treasury account for government to withdraw the money and provided the fund to school. I know that all the taxpayers will burden out the amount of money they have to deducted on their check. They obviously not agree with what the government doing, so they have to rejected free community college tuition opinion. But if they take a step back and think about their children, whose go to school and need to pay the tuition for the school. So the tuition fee will still a burden to all the parents

In today’s generation many hear about the importance of getting a college education. Many believe that getting a certification or degree will lead you on the path to a better future. For a portion of the American population college is helped pay for by various grant and student loans. But what about the portion of Americans that don’t qualify for them? For these Americans college seems so far out of reach. Making community college free for all Americans will be very beneficial to those Americans that don’t get help with paying their tuition. It will also make sure that nobody gets left behind because of their lack of money. Through evidence I will provide good reasoning as to why community college should be provided free to all citizens of the United States.

In the article “Free college? We can afford it”, author Katrina Vanden Heuvel believes that higher education should be free because the cost has risen and many students are no longer able to attend. Students cannot afford a college education. Low paying jobs are some of the reasons why people have a hard time finding a 2-4 year college degree institute. Why increase the amount of tuition for students? The author also mentioned that decreasing student funding restrains them from attendance. Katrina’s statements are agreeable because free education will expand opportunities for the youth.

During this year’s State of the Union address, President Obama reiterated his commitment to make two years of community college free for all Americans who are willing to work hard toward graduation. His vision was inspired by other programs in states like Tennessee and Chicago. His vision is being called “The American College Promise,” and would allow students to complete a certificate, an associate’s degree, or the first two years of a bachelor’s degree at no cost. That being said, a leader in Washington feel financial hardship also contributes to the dropout rates in colleges across the country.

President Barack Obama made a proposal on January 8, 2015 to make community college free for Americans. The proposal is made with stipulations, being that students are required to attend at least half time, maintain a 2.5 GPA, and make steady progress toward completing their program. With Tennessee already at a successful head start with their free tuition program, President Barack Obama wants the remaining states to progress as well. Now President Obama wants every American to receive two years of tuition free education in a community college. Upon completion of a community college major, students will receive two years of free education. The plan states that the federal government is to pay three-fourths of a student’s community college tuition if states agree to pay the remaining twenty-five percent. With rising student loan debt, students will finally have the necessary recourses to afford college and go back to school. The two year community college proposal should be mandated, but only with the stipulations previously stated.

President Obama’s idea of making the first two years of community college free for anyone who maintains a 2.5 gpa, works towards their degree, and attends school at least half-time “...would cost $60 billion over 10 years, a significant added cost for a federal government

Free college supporters often point out that United States can afford to pay the tuition for every student. Preston Smith and Sharon Szymanski argue in their article, “Why Political Scientist Should Support Free Public Higher Education”, “Free tuition at all public colleges…is economically feasible.” Smith and Szymanski go on to state, “tuitions and fees at all four-year and two year degrees…totaled just over 59 billion dollars, only 5.6% of our federal budget” (Smith, Szymanski). Smith and Szymanski are pointing out that college tuition is not a huge sum compared to other government programs like the military’s 396 billion budget, and with proper accounting free college tuition is perfectly possible.

“My father was a factory worker, and we were really poor. But everything I earned peddling papers and working in stores, he made me put aside for education” (Abraham A. Ribicoff). Abraham Ribcoff grew up to be the 80th governor of Connecticut and later became JFK’s secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. A major issue in today’s society is the debate over free community college tuition. Even though some say free community college tuition would be one step closer to saving Americas crumbling lower class, community college tuition should not be completely free. An education from a community college is already very affordable even for those who are from low-income families. On top of being

With the development of society and the improvement of technology, our need for high educated people and high-tech talents is growing. President Obama proposes making community college tuition-free for responsible students, in order to let more students receive the bachelor’s degree and earn skills that meet employer needs. The starting point of the proposal is good, because more students can have the chance to get the higher education, especially for students who are from low income families. While free tuition proposal engages more students to go to college or the university, I consider it is not a right solution.

As the number of students that enroll into community college increases, the more the idea of government paying for that college increases as well. The United States Government should not pay for Americans first two years of community college because the creation of job competition, the decrease in student motivation, and the cut in educators’ pays.

“The cost of college education today is so high that many young people are giving up their dream of going to college, while many others are graduating deeply in debt.”-Bernie Sanders. College tuition in the U.S is at an all-time high. Community college is available for adults who want to continue their education at a lower rate. It allows high school students, graduates and others to take on trade jobs and receive an associate’s degree. Although, community college can also be expensive for those who do not qualify for financial aid. Beginning last year, former President Barack Obama made a proposal for tuition free community college. Many Democrats, even Bernie Sanders, backed him up. However, there are many problems with this proposal. Free community college could actually lower rates of student success; the literature suggests that enrolling in a college that is less selective than they are academically qualified to attend reduces students’ chances of graduating. (Kelly) Instead of free community college, there should be more programs and aid to assist low-income students through college without having to struggle. Although it would be helpful for community college to be free, it would not be successful because: free community college could lead students to not meet academic requirements, most low and middle-income students already pay no net tuition to attend community college, and there

Knowledge and job skills lead to careers. It means that people can look for good jobs if they have skills and understand concepts. In order to create a good future and have good jobs, students need to attend community colleges for two years or a university for four years. Depending on the kind of majors or financial situation, students can choose their favorite school to study at. Finance is a big concern for students who have to pay for their tuition to gain knowledge or jobs skills. Tuition creates a lot of challenges for students who are low income or middle class because they cannot afford it; community colleges are good choices for them because they are cheaper than universities. Some students give up their schooling because of a lack of financial support. According to Goldrick-Rab and Kelly, financial pressure is one of the reasons why President Obama suggests tuition free community college (54). This proposal causes controversies because some people are concerned that this program may cause a burden on the public budget by taking more taxes from taxpayers to pay for college costs. On the other hand, other people hope this rule will be approved to increase middle class students’ lives, and society will be received benefits from an expanded economy and better quality of life. Basically, this proposal is useful; therefore, community college education should be tuition free to increase the quality of education and job skills.