President Barack Obama announced his plan Tuesday to launch the American Graduation Initiative, a program which will provide billions of dollars in federal funds to community colleges as a means of bolstering the national economy.
The American Graduation Initiative will provide resources for renovating outdated facilities and developing more effective online curricula, encourage employers to work with the colleges to provide useful job training and offer grants to community colleges who show improvement in their programs, Obama said in his speech at Macomb Community College in Warren, Mich.
He said community colleges are essential to the economy because they help provide easier access to higher education and the skills needed for new jobs in growing industries such as green technology or health information technology.
“We will not fill those jobs, or even keep those jobs here in America, without the training offered by community colleges,” Obama said. “And more workers who have lost their jobs, or fear losing a job, are seeking an edge at schools like [these.]”
Obama said that many community colleges have been forced to cut courses and enrollment as they face budget cuts, but the federal government will pay for the American Graduation Initiative by scaling back “wasteful subsidies.”
“Instead of lining the pockets of special interests, it’s time this money went toward the interests of higher education in America,” he said.
Obama said one of the biggest problems surrounding community colleges is that more than 50 percent of students who enroll fail to earn their associate’s degrees or complete the work necessary to transfer into a four-year university.
“Oftentimes, they’ve taken out debt and they don’t get the degree, but they still have to pay back the debt, and it’s a disaster for our economy,” he said.
Obama suggested implementing programs for tracking the progress of students to figure out what is keeping so many of them from reaching their college goals. He said by 2020, America will once again have the highest rate of college graduates worldwide.
“Time and again, when we placed our bet for the future on education, we have prospered as a result by tapping the incredible innovative and generative potential of a skilled American workforce,” he said.
Reynaldo Garcia, Texas Association of Community Colleges president, said although he does not know what funds local schools would receive specifically, the American Graduation Initiative will aid in the development of all community colleges.
“One key component of the plan is the significant amount of money for community college construction and renovation,” Garcia said. “Much of our infrastructure is getting old and because of increases in enrollment, there is a need for improvement.”
He said that while Texas community colleges receive funds from local foundations, the new plan would help schools develop more effective programs.
“Texas has one of the most sophisticated online college systems in the nation,” Garcia said. “We already share a lot of online learning resources among the colleges and we think the further development would certainly help.”
Alexis Patterson, Austin Community College spokeswoman, said the college tries to help students succeed with tutoring and mentoring programs, and hopes to receive federal funds to further develop services.
“ACC already has a broad range of initiatives aimed at boosting student success,” Patterson said. “We look forward to continuing and enhancing those efforts with any new money that may come our way.”
Byron McClenney, project director of UT’s educational administration department, said he felt ACC would benefit from federal funds as the school recently joined Achieving the Dream, a national initiative to improve graduation rates in community colleges.
“ACC is in a good position to receive funds because they’re already doing that kind of work,” McClenney said. “The schools have been working hard to achieve student success, and they are excited about President Obama’s proposals. Never before have community colleges been so important to the future of the nation.”
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