Nonetheless, the plan known as America’s College Promise offers a vision around which states, community colleges, foundations, research organizations, corporations, activists and citizens can mobilize to bring long-term innovation to the community college sector. While it may take years before something like the America’s College Promise to see enactment by the federal government, there’s plenty in the plan that others can accomplish to improve community colleges.
The strength of the President’s vision is that it casts a new paradigm that extends universal education beyond high school and invests heavily in community colleges to improve American economic competitiveness. Almost a century ago, the U.S. accomplished something similar by making high school widely available. That development opened up a new era of education and skills training that fueled 20th century American prosperity.
“Americans thrived in the 20th century because we made high school free. … We were ahead of the curve, but other countries caught on. And in a 21st-century economy that rewards knowledge like never before, we need to up our game. We need to do more,” declared Obama during his State of the Union speech on Tuesday.
If the $60 billion, 10-year proposal were enacted by the end of the Obama presidency, the White House says America’s College Promise would cover as many as 9 million students as they complete two years of tuition-free study either in an academic program whose credits will lead to transfer to a four-year college or an occupational training program leading to degrees and certificates that are in demand among employers.
Participation would be open to students who are enrolled in qualifying programs on at least a half-time basis, earn at least at least a 2.5 GPA and make consistent progress toward program completion. As part of the deal, community colleges would have to “strengthen their programs and increase the number of students who graduate,” according to the White House.
Specifically, the America’s College Promise blueprint seeks pursuit of several worthwhile objectives. For example, it advocates that Americans:
