Good morning, Gators, and welcome back from what we hope was a good weekend. Between the first days of a new semester and the awful things that happened around the world this week, we all needed a break. Now that we’re all back in the groove, let’s start the new week with a controversial yet much less dismal piece of national news: President Barack Obama’s proposal regarding tuition in community colleges.
On Friday, the president went public with a proposal to make tuition at community colleges across the country free for students who meet certain requirements.
Obviously, the plan was destined to garner criticism from its very inception. The “Obamacare of Education” — it took me about five seconds to generate that comparison — has already been assaulted on all sides. Like much of this administration’s policy, the proposal looks beautiful on paper but is easily susceptible to reproach from those who oppose Obama’s policies by virtue of being his, as well as critics with motivations that are less dogmatic.
The typical partisan Republican rallying cry of, “It’ll raise your taxes!” has already rung out across the country. Ironically, the president crafted his proposal with the help of Republican politicians from Tennessee. In fact, it was modeled after a program originally created by the Republican governor of Tennessee, Bill Haslam. States will be free to opt in or out, and will shoulder some of the financial burden. It’s an expansion of the federal government, but one that doesn’t encroach on the authority of state governments. What we have here is a plan that will raise our country’s human capital with the support of liberals and conservatives alike, save for Tea Party-aligned politicians.
Non-partisan criticism of the plan is less focused on cost. Rather, it’s more focused on what the program won’t cover. Of all the barriers to success in community college, tuition is fairly low on the list. Expenses like living, travel and textbook expenses as well as poor quality of education are more significant obstacles to would-be degree holders. They’re also precisely the stresses that wouldn’t be relieved under this plan, a fact which has education experts worried and disappointed.
Nonetheless, the president’s proposal would make it possible for millions of Americans to earn a degree they wouldn’t be able to afford or pursue otherwise. Included in the proposal is the requirement that participating community colleges would have to increase graduation rates and make their credits transferable to four-year universities in order to receive funding. This would not only improve an untold number of lives, it would also dramatically elevate the skill level of our population. While it will be expensive, enabling the education of our citizens seems like a more worthy and productive use of tax money than the $5 trillion we spent on keeping terrorists out of power in Iraq.
Look how well that turned out.
[A version of this story ran on page 6 on 1/12/2015 under the headline “Community college plan step in right direction"]
