President Barack Obama wants to “make community college tuition-free for millions of students,” program that in my experience teaching community college students could have long-term positive effects both on students and the institutions that serve them.
I say this not knowing the details, aside from what The New York Times has reported:
The proposal would cover half-time and full-time students who maintain a 2.5 grade point average — about a C-plus — and who “make steady progress toward completing a program,” White House officials said. It would apply to colleges that offered credit toward a four-year degree or occupational-training programs that award degrees in high-demand fields. The federal government would cover three-quarters of the average cost of community college for those students, and states that choose to participate would cover the remainder. If all states participate, the administration estimates, the program could cover as many as nine million students, saving them each an average of $3,800 a year.
There are questions, of course: Aside from the college GPA, what other qualifications would students need to meet? What happens if a state opts out? Will there be limitations on subject matter or majors?
The impact of a program like this — depending on the details, of course — could be dramatic, with millions of students attending hundreds of institutions. As the Times writes:
About 7.7 million Americans attend community college for credit, of whom 3.1 million attend full time, according to the American Association of Community Colleges, relying on 2012 data. Over all, the federal government provides about $9.1 billion to community colleges, or about 16 percent of the total revenue the colleges receive. Tuition from students provides $16.7 billion a year, or nearly 30 percent of revenue.
The nation’s 1,100 community colleges are the most affordable sector of higher education, with tuition and fees for full-time, in-state students typically less than the maximum federal Pell Grant award of $5,730 a year. Those grants help students in financial need. But there are often other expenses — including housing, books and transportation — that can make the total annual cost far higher.
My experience with community college students has been mixed, but mostly positive. Yes, there are some who obviously are enrolled only to get their aid check and rarely attend classes. But others, the majority, really, are using community college to change the trajectory of their lives. Adults returning to school, for instance, have decided that their job prospects are limited unless they can get a degree, while many younger students attend because the cost of a four-year school is just too high.
And many work full-time while attending school, struggling to cover their regular expenses while also meeting tuition costs and paying for books. If this program can remove tuition costs from their expense ledger, it could give them some breathing room. It also could allow more students to save money in preparation for transfer to four-year schools, potentially lessening the debt they carry down the road.
Critics will say that this is too expensive, but that assumes that the only cost we care about is the cost of government spending. The money is being spent now, but it is being covered by loans creating a dangerous amount of college debt that limits student opportunity, worsens wealth inequality, and could damage the economy when it bursts. We also need to acknowledge that the modern middle class was created, at least in part, by expanding access to college through heavy subsidies (the GI Bill, direct aid both to students and schools).
As for this program, as the cliche goes, the devil is in the details. But there is no doubt that we need to be talking about the cost of college (tuition levels) and who ultimately pays the cost.
Send me an e-mail.
Hank Kalet 
Meanwhile in most of western Europe, university education (tuition) is free at the point of entry. And we are not talking about commie totalitarian governments; these are free, democratic societies with a very healthy capitalistic sector. Sadly, right wing libertarian jackassery rules the roost in this country. If I hear another right wing GOP drone blathering on about limited government, cutting taxes (for the rich and the corporations), personal responsibility (code for killing off Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Obamacare, unemployment insurance) and reducing spending, I will vomit all over central NJ.