President Barack Obama recently proposed, via online video, a nationwide plan that could make community college free “for those who work for it.” His plan will make the first two years for students who maintain at least a 2.5 grade point average tuition-free.
While students currently enrolled in four-year universities might not be able to take advantage of this attempt to make higher education more accessible and affordable, MSU experts and students have equal compliments and concerns regarding the implications of the decision.
Marketing sophomore Jenna O’Berski is all for the proposed plan.
“I think it’s really cool that there is going to be a chance for people who want to work hard in school that can’t afford it to get the opportunity to do so,” O’Berski said. “I think the more people in school getting an education and pursuing their goals and dreams, the better.”
But the old saying rings true — there is no such thing as a free lunch.
The national average for the price of attending community college is more than $3,000 per academic year according to multiple reports. While the tuition will be free for students, someone is going to have to pay for it elsewhere.
The current proposal outlines the federal government will pay for 75 percent of the costs for community college and calls on the states to cover the remaining 25 percent.
Dean of the MSU College of Education Donald Heller wrote an article on Obama’s proposal in The Conversation, an online publication that solicits views from collegiate experts on variety of topics, and noted some of his reservations about sourcing those dollars.
“We do know that the program is potentially very expensive,” Heller writes in the article. “While the White House estimates the cost at $60 billion over ten years (sic), an estimate by David Leonhardt of the New York Times puts the annual cost at $15 billion.”
Another aspect to consider is the recipients of the program. The current program is unlike an academic scholarship in that it is accessible for everyone and is not awarded based on need or merit.
Heller also said that the funds should not be limited to community college students, and should be accessible to students of four-year institutions.
“The country may, in fact, be better off if the $3,800 grant could be used for students attending four-year universities, as well as community colleges,” Heller wrote. “There is definitive research showing that students who receive bachelor’s degrees receive much larger economic returns, on average, than do those earning associates degrees.”
Barbara Markle, the assistant dean for K-12 outreach in the MSU College of Education, had some similar concerns with the proposal.
“In theory, (the proposal) is a good first step toward higher education,” Markle said. “Though it has to strongly consider going to people who have the credentials to go onward to higher education and be able to get jobs in places of value to the economy.”
