President Barack Obama took to YouTube on Jan. 8 to announce a plan for two free years of community college.

Obama introduced his plan for two free years of community college “for anyone who is willing to work for it” through videos posted on social media. His introduction to America’s College Promise Proposal, which he will elaborate on during Tuesday’s State of the Union Address, outlined the expected requirements for students, community colleges and the federal government in order for the plan to succeed.

According to a fact sheet released by the White House, students must attend community college half time and maintain a 2.5 GPA. Community colleges will be expected to offer programs where credits can transfer to four-year colleges or offer occupational training programs with high graduation rates that lead to in-demand degrees and certificates.

Federal funding will cover three-fourths of the average cost of community college, while the participating states will cover the remaining funds in order to eliminate tuition.

Julie White, vice president of student engagement and learning support at Onondaga Community College, said she is very supportive of the proposal and believes that the plan will be beneficial for communities.

“We all benefit when we have an educated citizenry. The bottom line is that higher education is a benefit,” White said. “Contribution of all is a good thing. We need to understand the community good of having an educated community.”

“If students are in college for at least two years, they become more involved, critically engaged, they volunteer and understand more,” she added.

White said the GPA requirement should be more consistent with the data on financial aid students. While financial aid covers tuition and helps with books, fees and living at Onondaga Community College, White said that the biggest problem will be debt.

“It’s hard to completely evaluate a plan when all the details are not out. There could be some details that may not make it as free as it seems,” she said.

William Coplin, director of the public affairs program at SU, said, “people who are poor already get aid” and because the plan is not based on need, taxpayers shouldn’t have to pay for wealthy people to go to school for free. He said he believes the plan should prepare students to get a degree to get a job.

“The expectation of going to college is to get a job. If it was only for technical programs for one or two years, I would agree with it,” he said. “But not for a major that prepares for a job that doesn’t exist. Basically, I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

According to The National Center for Education Statistics, 31 percent of first-time, full-time community college students graduate within three years. In his experience, Coplin said he believes that the program will benefit a few students, but the middle class will rip it off anyway. He also said that it is a blatant political move to get more votes that will hurt participating states in the long run.

“Congress might give it away because Republicans will be looked at. They don’t want to be seen taking the cookies away from the masses,” Coplin said. “Since states will have to pay a part, eventually states will pay the whole thing.”

Jerry Evensky, an SU economics professor, said it is hard to predict if participating states will have to pay more than expected for the program in the long run. He said the plan is beneficial in that it upgrades the public’s education while preparing them for the job market.

“I think that community college offers people the option to try college without going into too much debt,” Evensky said. “Too many people don’t have that opportunity.”

Published on January 20, 2015 at 12:01 am

Contact Katelyn: kmfaubel@syr.edu