Reporter discusses opinion of free community college proposal
Students sit in the library and flip through college pamphlets. On Jan. 20, President Barack Obama addressed the nation with his State of the Union. In his address, Obama proposed a plan to make community college free for full-time students with a GPA of 2.5 or higher.
Two years of free college sounds perfect, until you realize that this plan is far too expensive for those that would most need to utilize it. With a GPA of 2.5 or higher and a full-time enrollment, students could attend two years of junior college with no cost.
This seems easy enough, but when parents and adults with full-time jobs are added to the equation, full-time schooling may not be an option.
President Barack Obama announced this proposal at the State of the Union earlier this year.
With the cooperation of the states, tuition free college is the perfect route for students who can enroll in full-time schooling. For those who cannot, they will have to pay their way through.
“Understand, you’ve got to earn it—you’ve got to keep your grades up and graduate on time,” Obama said.
With nearly half of the student population choosing community colleges, a tuition free plan is the best way to help struggling students out of debt. This plan would give adults a chance at higher education and a better chance at higher paying jobs in the work place.
“Forty percent of our college students choose community college,”Obama said. “Whoever you are, this plan is your chance to graduate ready for the new economy, without a load of debt.”
The theory seems flawless, but the problems are found within the potential execution. According to Obama’s plan, the government would pay 75 percent while the states would pick up the remaining 25 percent. Students would also need to have no other financial support coming from the school they choose to attend.
Loading ...“Tennessee, a state with Republican leadership, and Chicago, a city with Democratic leadership, are showing that free community college is possible,” Obama said. “I want to spread that idea all across America, so that two years of college becomes as free and universal in America as high school is today.”
With the overwhelming thought of loans and debt keeping students from fulfilling their schooling needs, a plan like this is exactly what we need but the probability of this plan working is low. Without an option for working adults to attend school part-time and still have the option for free schooling, the plan will be cutting out people who could truly use the financial help.
