President’s community college proposal came from state plan
By Roy Ockert Jr.
Jan. 27, 2015
President Barack Obama proposed in his State of the Union address last week that two years of community college be free for responsible students across America. The kneejerk reaction of some, predictable with anything this president advocates, is that Obama wants yet another giveaway program.
Because Republicans now control both houses of Congress and are focused on the 2016 presidential election, nothing will come of the proposal. And yet it’s one that we should consider, and will consider, in some form down the road.
Free public education in this country is hardly a radical notion. While it’s not guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and therefore generally left to the states, we have developed a system of public schools open to all citizens at no cost. Various federal statutes and court decisions require equitable access.
Article 14 of the Arkansas Constitution says: “Intelligence and virtue being the safeguards of liberty and the bulwark of a free and good government, the State shall ever maintain a general, suitable and efficient system of free public schools and shall adopt all suitable means to secure to the people the advantages and opportunities of education.”
Notice that the amendment doesn’t define “free public schools.” When I was growing up, it meant grades 1-12, so I got 12 years of free education. By the time I had children, a 13th year — kindergarten — had been added. Now most states, including Arkansas, are expanding public education to include pre-kindergarten under the theory that the sooner we can get kids learning, the better.
Because we believe that more public education is a good thing, it makes sense that at some point we should add learning opportunities above the grade 12 level. Of course, many of us (though too few in Arkansas) avail ourselves of post-secondary education by attending college. Public institutions of higher education are everywhere, but they are not free.
In study after study the value of a college education is clear. For example, the Pew Research Center last year showed that a college graduate is likely to earn $17,500 more per year than a high school graduate. And the advantage isn’t just money. College graduates are more likely to be married, happy with their jobs and productive as citizens.
The value of a 2-year college degree isn’t as dramatic, but community colleges open the door to 4-year colleges and universities for many.
Amendment 52 of Arkansas’ Constitution provides for a system of state-supported community colleges to provide “college instruction and technical training.” We have 22, of which about half are associated with a public university, and they are spread out so that one is within commuting distance of most citizens. Tuition costs are relatively low. Most of them offer programs designed specifically to satisfy job demands in the college’s area.
While the state’s 4-year institutions had a total enrollment of just over 98,000 last fall, the 2-year colleges enrolled about 53,500.
There is nothing magic about 13 years of education. It stands to reason that as the economy becomes more technologically complex, Arkansas should consider expanding its system of free public schools. We’re already doing that on the front end.
So is President Obama’s proposed concept of free community college another step toward socialism? Hardly.
A younger friend, after hearing of the president’s proposal, huffed that he had worked for his college education and no one handed it to him. As his former teacher, I can testify that’s true — to a point. He did work hard and defrayed the costs, but his tuition dollars paid for only part of the cost of operating the university he attended.
We know there is no such thing as free. In my friend’s time state and federal revenues accounted for about 60 percent of the operating costs of state-supported colleges and universities, which meant that the taxpayer paid for most of the cost. And he had 12 or 13 years of totally “free” education before that.
Today, state and federal support of higher education is dwindling. In 2013, for example, students’ tuition and fees accounted for 57 percent of operating revenues at ASU-Jonesboro, and that’s typical across the nation. Rising tuition and fees have also forced many students into debt because they can’t earn enough to pay the costs while learning.
Obama didn’t mention student debt in this year’s address, and that’s where I’d rather the federal government focus its attention. While the concept of free community colleges is a good plan, it can be accomplished better on the state level.
In fact, the idea for “America’s College Promise” came from a state plan, the “Tennessee Promise,” signed into law by our neighbor’s Republican Gov. Bill Haslam eight months ago. That’s right, Obama’s proposal came from a Republican idea in much the same way as his health-care reform.
The Tennessee program, according to The Tennessean, offers eligible high school seniors the chance to attend one of Tennessee’s 13 community colleges or 27 colleges of applied technology tuition-free, starting next fall. The plan is being funded with a $361.1 million endowment from state lottery reserves, and about 90 percent of Tennessee’s senior class has already applied.
Haslam’s idea is rooted in a privately funded program that began in Knoxville while he was mayor there.
A giveaway? No, it’s a creative investment in Tennessee’s future. Can Arkansas afford to sit on its laurels?
Roy Ockert is editor emeritus of The Jonesboro Sun. He may be reached by e-mail at royo@suddenlink.net.