Obama’s Two Year College Plan

~ Laura

I’m getting up to speed on Obama’s Two Years Free at a Community College plan.

I’m predisposed to like the plan, because I love community colleges. My parents benefitted from local, inexpensive schools that enabled them to jump to more competitive schools on a scholarship. So, I also love schools like CUNY, even if they are losing sight of their mission.

Some commentary. Tom Hanks loves the plan. Megan McArdle doesn’t. More who love it: here and here….

Published by Laura

2 thoughts on “Obama’s Two Year College Plan”

  1. I love the idea that we start investing more in education, but have a lot of random concerns. 1) Can students use the aid for remedial courses? (Can’t we bill this back to their high schools? Kidding. Mostly.) 2) If there is an incentive to attract as many students as possible, including those aren’t really college material (by interest and inclination as much as aptitude) are we going to see existing content and standards watered down and grades inflated? Are students going to graduate from CC ready for junior year in a 4-year college? 3) Will this aid count towards vocational programs? (I hope so) 4) Will community colleges and state universities be required to work together to ensure students are taking classes that will count towards a 4 year degree? And of course, 5) if we make sure that, say 90% of our high school graduates end up with at least a 2 year degree, or even a 4 year degree, does that just mean you have to have a BA just to get a janitorial job?

    Until last year, I worked on an account that employed ~ 200 staff at $12.00 an hour (not much in our expensive metro area) for a demanding job with no future. Most of the staff had associate’s degrees or were working towards them in community college. Most were in marketing or criminal justice. Those degrees weren’t going to get them anywhere – they aren’t a magic bullet.

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  2. I haven’t read the details of the plan, but do very much like the idea of the classes themselves being free. I think, though, that free is going to have to include all of the above in AJ’s list (remedial, vocational, . . . .). I also think it will require community colleges to be more than they have been, and asking that without additional funding will mean failure.

    Some folks on the left have criticized the plan on the grounds that it doesn’t pay for living expenses. But, I consider this a good, not bad.

    I also think there are no simple panaceas and that there will be unintended consequences. I think there’s a tendency for those who are learners, especially if they are not also teachers, to think that teaching will be the solution to all of our economic woes. But, everyone can’t be a part of the educated elite. We need to figure out ways of making sustainable jobs that require other skills and also helping people acquire the soft skills required for work (motivation, reliability, . . . ) (one step of which has to be making work acceptably rewarding).

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