It is likely that Obama’s community college plan is not going to work out. For one, the Republican-controlled Congress will not support this plan. And the community colleges will have the burden of having to support a large number of students with limited resources. But, there are other ways to make college more affordable. Community college is already inexpensive in most of the states. The Tennessee Promise is the model for the president’s free community college plan. This promise allows for students to receive financial help if they file a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), complete 8 hours of community service per semester, and earn a C grade point average.
“The average community college charges about $3,350 a year in tuition and fees” (Clark). But, students usually do not end up paying the whole amount since they can apply for some sort of financial aid. The “pay it forward” proposal lets students repay a percentage of their income instead of paying the college fees while the students are in college. A few colleges and the military offer ways to attend college classes for free. The Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCS) is a cheaper way to earn a few college credits. President Obama talked about his plans to make at least two years of community colleges free. This will help out many students if all states participate in it.
To qualify for this benefit, a student must maintain a 2.5 grade point average. Most of the money to turn this plan into reality will be paid by the federal government (75%). The rest of the money must be paid by the states. Community college is a more flexible way for people to earn a college degree or prepare to transfer to a four year university. Community colleges cost far less than universities. But, students usually tend to take more than 2 years to get an associates degree. This plan is not necessary since community college does not cost a lot to begin with and there are financial aid to help the students who need it.
Obama’s plan is influenced by the Tennessee promise. The Congress will probably not agree to give the money needed to implement this plan. And even if this plan was implemented, colleges might raise tuition fees. States might give more money to help students with financial aid instead of funding the community college. One thing that people of both parties can agree on is that the application process for financial aid is too complicated. Starbucks is going to financially help its employees who attend Arizona State University’s online classes. Undergrad students will be able to go to school for little or no cost.
Freshmen and sophomore students will be paying a greatly reduced tuition fee.The juniors and seniors will not have to pay any college tuition. This tuition reimbursement deal is not available to all the employees of Starbucks. It is limited to students working at company- owned locations and not to students working at licensed locations (ex: in grocery stores). The employees working at licensed locations will be subjected to benefits offered by the licensing company. Arizona State University has many online classes and is one of the highly ranked schools in online Student Services and Technology.
The financial aid system in the United States seemed to be successful at first, but after looking at the statistics of what families are having to pay, especially the low-income students, it seems that progress is still yet to be made. Despite organizations like FAFSA that would be thought to reduce that amount low-income families would pay, families still need to pay for over 40% of tuition. Although people may argue that at least 60% is provided by the federal and local government, the average 40% of tuition unfortunately accounts for over over 59% of these families’ income.
Obama has seemed to help out by offering free community college, as long as the student maintains an average GPA of 2.5. This act is the most active act regarding education since the Higher Education Act of 1965, which was the reason to Lyndon B. Johnson’s momentary surge in approval ratings. Congress at the time was calling for even more change in the education system. Now, however, the community college plan set by Obama is receiving negative criticism by Republicans, who believe that this already debt-ridden country should not be spending more money on poor and lower-middle class families. Thus, it is clear that the federal government needs to properly assess its agenda in order to bring about appropriate action, and maybe, along the way, reduce the cost of tuition.
