At the State of the Union Address, President Obama outlined a plan to invest in this country’s students. Dubbed by the media as “America’s College Promise” and a “ticket to the middle class,” the president’s proposal intends to lessen the struggle of obtaining a degree by offering a two-year, tuition-free education to qualifying American students.
The proposal is based on the Tennessee Promise, a state-led initiative that will function as both a scholarship and mentoring program to high school graduates willing to obtain a degree at a community college or technical school in Tennessee. Described as a “last-dollar scholarship,” the Promise pledges to cover expenses not paid for by federal aid or outside endowments. Tennessee’s high school seniors are clamoring to put it to use — 58,000 students have applied for the program, amounting to nearly 90 percent of seniors in the state. This early success has given many — specifically, the president and his administration — hope that a similar program can be applied on a national scale.
Obama’s plan is well intentioned. Possession of a college degree is increasingly important. Georgetown University’s Recovery 2020 report claims that 30 percent of job openings in the United States will require an associate degree by the next decade. The president’s goal to provide students with the resources necessary to compete in the workforce is a positive one. Unfortunately, the proposal fails to target the underlying obstacles to student success.
The leading problem lies with the proposal’s demands. Students are expected to maintain a 2.5 GPA and obtain their degree in two years. This requirement is an attempt to instill a sense of drive and dedication and to ensure that those who obtain degrees are willing to “work for it,” but are such conditions readily and normally achievable?
The simultaneous popularity and failure of the community college system is a blemish on the structure of American higher education. Though most prospective students wish to attend a four-year institution and nab a shiny bachelor’s degree from the get-go, doing so still proves unattainable for many. Community college students account for 45 percent of all undergraduates in the country. This trend is likely the result of the high costs of bachelor’s degree programs and, in some cases, the sheer inability to leave home for the pursuit of education. This number is plagued with startling graduation and retention rates. A quarter of community college students who begin their journey in the fall fail to return the following spring. A 2009 study reported that only 31 percent of full-time students enrolled in a two-year university obtain degrees within three years. Two-year universities should be hubs for educational growth, but the numbers show otherwise.
Instead of merely alleviating the cost of community college, steps should be taken to improve the overall quality and culture of these two-year schools. It is obvious that cost is not the sole cause for concern when the entire system boasts such a lukewarm, fragile success rate. Offering free tuition and the opportunity to attend school to those who are willing to work for it is a terrific offer, but the real solution lies in what happens once students are enrolled. Let’s work to ameliorate the environment of these two-year schools and encourage students to prosper. Access to quality education is the true fulfillment of the “College Promise.”