Tonyaa Weathersbee: Obama's proposal for community colleges is a promising one

Times-Union

http://jacksonville.com/business/columnists/2015-01-28/story/tonyaa-weathersbee-obamas-proposal-community-colleges-promising#.VMlPPeYgjxI.twitter

Free community college would give communities and workers a hand up.

That’s one way that U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan sees it — especially when it comes to retraining employees who have been displaced by technology.

“The best community colleges have become great economic engines for their communities,” Duncan told me and other African-American columnists during a recent conference call with our group.

“They are extremely important in retraining workers,” Duncan said.

“If you are trained in a job or a skill that is no longer needed, that job isn’t coming back. I can’t emphasize that enough.”

President Barack Obama’s proposal to offer two years of free community college would waive tuition for students going to school at least part time who maintain a 2.5 GPA and who are making progress toward graduation or toward transferring to a four-year institution.

“Some are older and looking for a better job,” Obama said of community college students during his recent State of the Union address.

“Some are veterans and single parents trying to transition back into the job market.”

Obama said his plan would give such Americans a “chance to graduate ready for the new economy without a load of debt.”

FSCJ PRESIDENT AGREES
Cynthia Bioteau, president of Florida State College at Jacksonville, said while many details may need to be tweaked, Obama’s proposal was a bold one.

And Bioteau agreed with Duncan that community colleges are even more important now as technology continues to make many jobs obsolete.

“It [Obama’s proposal] has everyone talking about the importance of education beyond high school,” Bioteau said.

“It’s critical because that’s how we keep a skilled workforce.”

But I believe Obama’s proposal is extremely critical for another reason:

It would make it much easier for those who might otherwise rack up mountains of debt at predatory, for-profit colleges.

According to Pew Charitable Trusts, students at for-profit colleges account for 13 percent of college students but 31 percent of all student debt and half of the defaults.

I asked Duncan about that.

LESS DEBT FOR STUDENTS
“We have some pretty strict, proposed regulations to deal with the for-profit schools that are abusing people and leaving them in a worse situation than they were in before,” Duncan said — while also emphasizing that many for-profit colleges are solid and reputable.

“But as we increase the capacity of the community colleges,” Duncan said, “there may be less of a need for young people to go to these (potentially predatory) institutions.”

Bioteau said while she believes the offer of free community college might persuade some students not to choose for-profit schools, it might not sway those seeking to earn degrees or finish certain programs in shorter periods of time.

She said that’s why community colleges must continue to do a better job of quickly providing the relevant courses that students need to earn their degrees at an accelerated pace.

In the meantime, though, the idea of providing two years of free community college to students who meet certain conditions is an investment in preparing them for a workforce that is constantly changing.

And it will make it easier for these Americans to achieve success in a world that is also constantly changing.

• Email: tonyaaweathersbee@yahoo.com
• Twitter:@tonyaajw
• Like her at www.facebook.com/tonyaajweathersbee
• Visit her at www.tonyaajweathersbee.com