MODERATOR’S NOTE: No political commentary, please!
If it’s means-tested, I don’t support it.
@momofthreeboys Sounds like a good idea, but the biggest mistake I see CC students making is that they just go do whatever they want, without first looking at any requirements, or discussing with someone whether their plans are reasonable. I’ve now seen twice where I told a student I would be surprised if their plan worked, yet they contacted no one and acted like it was the college’s fault when it didn’t.
Don’t the colleges in your state have mandatory advising? Ours do. You’re really basing your opinion on a sample of two?
Tennessee isn’t the only state that helps students pay for higher education. Some NYS cc’s offer free tuition to students in the top 10% of their class. We also have a program for STEM majors who agree to work in NYS for 5 years after they graduate. There are already federal and state programs (Pell and TAP) that offer grants, so giving students free money from other people’s taxes isn’t a new idea. I wonder if people would get behind the idea more if they were given a grant equal to the cost of 2 years of cc but allowed to use it wherever they want. Isn’t the FL Bright Futures something like that?
I’ve never heard it called ‘mandatory’, but I’m sure it’s possible for students to have a plan that doesn’t get fully communicated to the advisor. I have seen lots of students who, for whatever reason, don’t seem to be able to fulfill their “plans” through CC. I was relating two, in particular, who I very pointedly told to get their plan checked out and it didn’t appear they did.
You seem to have had a strong reaction to this. Can you tell us why?
Let’s all quit our jobs so we can get some free govt handouts too.
This may prove to be a greater issue (when it comes go getting the bill passed in congress) than funding:
“promising and evidence-based institutional reforms”=Federal Mandated Rules and Outcomes for Community Colleges
Several states have started to implement performance based funding, including Tennessee (which may be the model for the President’s proposal).
This turns into a state vs. federal control issue. Should the state of Tennessee or California set the objectives for it’s local CC’s, or should the federal government?
hahahahaha
Heck, our public high schools barely have advising. (700/1 ratio).
Anyone can graduate from the Univeristy of California without never having to see an “advisor”. For many, there really is no need, since major and graduation requirements are all online.
This is not some kind of wild radical idea. We already have free public education through twelfth grade, and substantially subsidized higher education as well. This is just a matter of deciding what sorts of things should be public goods for the benefit of all of us. Personally, I think this one would benefit all of us, so I’m in favor of it.
Community college is already very inexpensive. I’m not sure why it needs to be free since in my little town the CC is already jam-packed with students who seem to stay forever and achieve nothing. The transfer rate is embarrassingly tiny and the kid with a goal is rare indeed. It also has a zero chance of passing, so it’s just talk. Politics, I guess.
Maybe if it were free with strings attached (like GPA), students would be more motivated.
My local CC costs about 1500 per semester for residents. Yes, to many even that is a deterrent.
I’m all in favor of this. Given all the useless stuff we spend billions on each year, a useful program would be a breath of fresh air.
I don’t know what it costs in my state because I have a kid who went for free by requesting a fee waiver but if he had been required to pay 15-hundred dollars a semester he would have been able to figure out how to earn that amount of money. And, I think that’s a fine thing since anyone who cannot figure out how to come up with a couple of hundred dollars a month is probably not ready to succeed in a CC anyway. And, there are a lot of those students wasting time in those classes right now. I don’t how how making something free would make the consumer any more responsible. But. that’s just me of course.
Education is the key to upward mobility. Having to pay $3000 (at least) per year on that instead of food or other essentials is a bar to that. Solution? Make CC’s free to those maintain a responsible GPA.
Consider it an investment in the economy. Sort of like tax cuts to the rich, except more direct (and actually supported by evidence).
The program requirements likely will be similar to the Tennessee program.
So, you have to keep a 2.0 GPA, and you only have two and one-half years to take advantage of the program.
I doubt Wisconsin Republican Governor Scott Walker would agree to accept the terms of Obama’s proposal. Afterall, soon after taking office Walker eliminated the Wisconsin Covenant program for students who had not previously signed the pledge in 8th grade. This program promised $250 to $2500 per year to college students who fulfilled certain GPA and community service requirements in high school, depending on FAFSA EFC.
“Having to pay $3000 (at least) per year on that instead of food or other essentials is a bar to that. Solution? Make CC’s free to those maintain a responsible GPA.”
Well, another solution is a part-time job and if we’re talking about maintaining a 2.0 that does not seem all that oppressive. My kid got a 4.0 in CC along with an EMT certificate and worked 2 jobs before transferring to his dream school and I don’t recall him being over-worked or even studying all that much except right before an exam or two. so yeah. I don’t get the need at all. He’s not that special, really and it wasn’t that hard.
How many family members was he supporting with his earnings?
How many family members is the average high school student supporting? If they have kids that is another problem.
@marie1234
Like @Hunt was implying, some people need those jobs to simply live and support their family. They can’t afford to spend that on education. Also, don’t act like your son represents the general population in terms of academic ability.