President Barack Obama's Proposal: Make Two Years Of Community College

education such as state college or university you should pay the tuition but for those that choose

Since Obama’s announcement of his idea to provide free community college an uproar of an argument has arose with two distinct sides: community college should be free and community college should not be free. The idea behind free community college is to help individuals reach towards a college degree just as people are easily set forth to reach for a high school degree. The hope is that by deleting the financial barrier that comes with community college more people are willing to aim for an associates degree and possibly higher. There are states that have decided to take the matter into their own hands and are planning to implement this idea. However, the idea of having free community college implemented throughout all states is still questionable

Financial barriers for higher education has climbed over the last ten years. Today, over 40 million Americans have student loans. Of these 40 million, most individuals are struggling to maintain payments on the loans (Hillary for America, 2016). Since 2004, the tuition for in-state colleges and universities has risen by about 42 percent and with the recent Great Recession, states have continued to decrease spending on higher education at a rapid rate (Hillary for America, 2016). It is estimated that states are only contributing around $1,805 per student, which is estimated to be 20 percent less than what was contributed only seven years’ prior. The federal government in

In October 2000, the overall picture of high school dropouts had changed little since the late 1980s (Kaufman et al. 2001): For every 100 young adults enrolled in high school in October 1999, 5 had left school without completing a program; of 34.6 million U.S. young adults aged 16-24, 3.8 million—almost 11 percent—had not completed high school and were not enrolled. Some studies have shown that students in schools with a concentration of multiple risk factors (e.g., large schools, large classes, high poverty, inner city location) have less than one chance in two of graduating from high school; furthermore, the economic costs of dropping out have increased as time goes on (Castellano et al. 2001). Adjusting for 50

Therefore, students begin dreaming of college; where they will attend and what they will become when they grow up. Unfortunately, the absurd college and university tuition hikes have forced many prospective college bound students to shift gears on their journey to receiving a college degree. One of the modifications made to the dreams of many, is college selection. Thousands of students have opted to start their college careers at a community college. Community colleges are designed to serve as a pathway from high school to college and most offer two-year transfer or university parallel programs that prepare students wishing to earn a bachelor’s degree from a four-year institution. Community Colleges are generally more cost efficient therefore, grant access to many more students desiring a higher education. CNN Money journalist, Kim Clark reports that, “While community college tuition posted a sharp 8.7% gain, it's still a bargain: only about $3,000 a year for full-time tuition” (Clark). Clark also suggests that due to recent increases in federal grants and tax benefits, the average total aid was raised above the average tuition price of community colleges, therefore, “the typical community college student got the cost of tuition and most textbooks fully covered” (Clark). According to the College Board, “four out of 10 graduating high school students begin their college careers at community colleges” (Why Community College?). Typically, courses that are

“There’s something about free that’s very clear to everyone.” (Joanne Jacobs) says Halley Potter a Century Foundation fellow, and everyone can agree with this statement. In the article “As He Promotes It, Some Question Obama’s Free Community College Idea,” by Joanne Jacobs, it explain how a student from Rio Hondo College (community college near LA) are “uncertain about President Barack Obama’s free college plan,” (Jacobs, 1). Free community college is a bad idea because community college is already almost free as it is with all the grants you can receive and financial aid or even scholarships. It is also a bad idea because even though it can be a powerful impact on lower income students it won’t be as beneficial because the colleges will become overpopulated and they would have to make waiting lists for you to get in and that will waste your time and you might get behind on graduating.

Consequently, the absurd college and university tuition hikes have forced many prospective college bound students to shift gears on the journey to receiving their degree. In fact, many students have opted to start their college careers at a community college. Community colleges are designed to serve as a connection from high school to college by providing courses that are transferable to colleges or universities offering a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree and are generally more cost efficient. CNN Money journalist, Kim Clark reports that, “While community college tuition posted a sharp 8.7% gain, it's still a bargain: only about $3,000 a year for full-time tuition” (Clark). Clark also suggests that due to recent increases in federal grants and tax benefits, the average total aid was raised above the average tuition price of community colleges, therefore, “the typical community college student got the cost of

According to a recent report by NPR the college board found, “the average tuition and fees at public four-year colleges and universities increased by 27 percent beyond the rate of inflation over five years”(Geewax, 2014). This information proves that paying for college has just gotten more and more difficult with the raising price. In a recent study CNBC found that, “tuition has been rising by about 6% annually, according to investment management company Vanguard… in 18 years a year of higher education at a private school — including tuition, fees, and room and board — will cost more than $120,000” (Wong, 2017). Out of context 6% annually may not seem like a lot, but that's means that college is one twentieth more expensive than the last year. This is why this could take a huge toll on some families and students.

Many people believe college should be free, but there are still people that believe that it needs to be paid for. Free college has worked in many other countries, and in public colleges in Minnesota, Oregon, and Tennessee. More people

It’s an idea that pops up every now and then. Every year many young people work hard to pass their school-leaving exams and enter a college. However, for many of them acquiring good marks is not the only worry. Unlike the lucky minority from wealthy families, they must also think about the ways of getting money to pay for their education. For a half century, federal funding has flowed to students in the form of vouchers, and students have had the power to choose from an array of providers--public, private, and for-profit. Making education free can stretch from an array of getting rid of student debts/loans to decreasing the amount of unqualified jobs with the help of President Obama 's idea of making community colleges "free." The government claims that free education is impossible, as there is no possibility to subsidize the universities and colleges with the budget funds. Moreover, when education is fully supported financially by the state, colleges lose their independence and the spirit of democracy and freedom. .

The current annual price for community college is $3,430 (Tugend, 2016). Compare that to fifty years ago. Students, as long as they got accepted, could go to Harvard University for $2,370 (Berry, 2010). Fifty years ago, you could go to Harvard for $1,000 less than you can go to a community college today. To combat the rise in prices, several states have started to implement solutions to solve this issue. Kentucky, Minnesota, Oregon and Tennessee already mandate free or near-free community college tuition to eligible high school graduates; eleven other states have similar bills pending, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures (Tugend, 2016). At these schools, the responsible high school students that do not have a lot of money can attend community college for little to no cost to them. While some states have already started changing their prices to suit the normal student, there are still several states that have yet to do so. One way to reduce prices would be to redesign the remedial class system and make it more cost efficient.

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.

Community colleges should be tuition free to help students achieve the goals and get the degree they want. President Obama proposed for tuition-free community colleges earlier this year. Community colleges being free would help persuade people to pursue a degree. There would be less students in debt, because they would not have to take out a loan to attend community college. If community colleges were free, it would help people get a leg up on their college degree, there would be less debt for college students, and deleting community college tuition would help students achieve success in their educational careers.

Tuition-free college provides everyone an equal opportunity to gain higher education that they desire. Using statistics in College Costs: FAQs from the College Board - a popular organization that connects students to college success and opportunity, the average cost of tuition of the public two-year college (in-district students) is about $3440; the one of the public four-year college is about $9410; and the one of the public four-year college (out-of-state students) is about $32410. That huge amount of tuition aren’t affordable for everyone, especially for high-school graduates. Moreover, community colleges in the U.S. serve not only high-school graduates, but also immigrants, veterans, oversea students, and people studying to meet new jobs’ requirements. They usually can’t pay for full tuitions themselves without using student loans and debts. According to the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the report Student Loan Servicing shows that total student debt has gone up to $1.2 trillion. The heavy debt could bring the whole economy down in a

The national dropout rate has been about 15 percent. In 2002, 11 percent of young people aged 16 to 24 in the civilian, non-institutionalized population were not enrolled in and had not completed high school. While the exact magnitude of the problem may be elusive, the fact that it's particularly severe in large urban schools has been understood for some time.