The President Proposes to Make Community College Free for Responsible Students for 2 Years

David Hudson

January 08, 2015 
06:16 PM EST

This month, the President unveiled a new proposal: Make two years of community college free for responsible students across America.

In our growing global economy, Americans need to have more knowledge and more skills to compete -- by 2020, an estimated 35 percent of job openings will require at least a bachelor's degree, and 30 percent will require some college or an associate's degree. Students should be able to get the knowledge and the skills they need without taking on decades' worth of student debt.

The numbers:

If all 50 states choose to implement the President's new community college proposal, it could:
Save a full-time community college student $3,800 in tuition per year on average
Benefit roughly 9 million students each year

Under President Obama's new proposal, students would be able to earn the first half of a bachelor's degree, or earn the technical skills needed in the workforce -- all at no cost to them.

The requirements:

What students have to do: Students must attend community college at least half-time, maintain a 2.5 GPA, and make steady progress toward completing their program.
What community colleges have to do: Community colleges will be expected to offer programs that are either 1) academic programs that fully transfer credits to local public four-year colleges and universities, or 2) occupational training programs with high graduation rates and lead to in-demand degrees and certificates. Community colleges must also adopt promising and evidence-based institutional reforms to improve student outcomes.
What the federal government has to do: Federal funding will cover three-quarters of the average cost of community college. Participating states will be expected to contribute the remaining funds necessary to eliminate the tuition for eligible students.

Expanding technical training programs:

President Obama also proposed the new American Technical Training Fund, which will expand innovative, high-quality technical training programs across the country. Specifically, the fund will award programs that:

• Have strong employer partnerships and include work-based learning opportunities
• Provide accelerated training
• Accommodate part-time work

Read the full fact sheet of the President's proposal. 

via: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2015/01/08/president-proposes-make-community-college-free-responsible-students-2-years

A breakdown of the governor's budget

Here's a breakdown of Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1:

K-12, COMMUNITY COLLEGES: Would get $7.4 billion more this fiscal year and next. For next year, Brown proposes a 7.9 percent increase in school spending. K-12 per-pupil spending would grow by $306, to $9,667. Much of the infusion will pay off what the state already owes schools, part of the "wall of debt" that Brown pledged to dismantle.

UC AND CSU: The two state university systems would each receive a 4 percent increase -- $120 million each -- as long as they don't raise tuition.

SOCIAL SERVICES: The state will spend an extra $800 million on Medi-Cal because of a 2.1 percent increase in enrollment. Brown would also spend $483 million to eliminate a 7 percent cut to the hours of care In-Home Supportive Services recipients receive each month.

COURTS: Would receive about a $180 million boost, the second consecutive year the judiciary got a dose of good news after years of cutbacks in the hundreds of millions of dollars. The bulk of the increase is headed to the state's 58 trial courts, which will receive about $2.7 billion of the judiciary's $3.47 billion budget.

PRISONS: Spending on the California prison system would increase by 1.7 percent, raising the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to $10.1 billion. Prison reform groups expressed disappointment in the governor's decision to increase spending on incarceration.

TRANSPORTATION: The state Transportation Agency would get $15.8 billion. Brown has said he wants to fix California's crumbling roads, highways and bridges, but his budget proposal includes no plan for covering the $66 billion cost of those repairs.

PARKS AND ENVIRONMENT: Brown proposed spending $532 million on new water projects, funded by the Proposition 1 water bond approved by voters in November. Projects include recycled water, conservation and watershed improvement. The governor also proposed $20 million in new money for deferred maintenance at state parks; $1 billion from prior bonds to fund new flood-control projects; and $1 billion from the state's cap-and-trade program to fund high-speed rail, urban transit, building efficiency and other programs to reduce greenhouse gases.

via: http://www.mercurynews.com/education/ci_27292946/breakdown-governors-budget

Jerry Brown approves community college bachelor’s degrees

In what could portend a monumental shift in public higher education in California, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill Sunday that will allow up to 15 community colleges to launch bachelor’s degrees programs in vocational fields.

While 21 other states offer community college baccalaureates, California’s colleges have traditionally been the domain of transfer students and career technical education, granting two-year associate degrees, as established more than 50 years ago in the Master Plan for Higher Education. Senate Bill 850 will allow colleges to experiment with four-year degrees. 

The pilot program is set to begin no later than the 2017-18 academic year and end in 2024.

In recent years, advocates have argued that growing industry demand for more educated workers in fields such as dental hygiene and automotive technology could be met by expanding existing programs at community colleges.

“This is landmark legislation that is a game-changer for California’s higher education system and our workforce preparedness,” state Sen. Marty Block, D-San Diego, who authored the bill, said in a statement. “SB 850 boosts the focus of our community colleges on job training and increasing the accessibility and affordability of our state’s higher education system.”

Brown also vetoed Assembly Bill 46 from Assemblyman Richard Pan, D-Sacramento, which would have required California State University to share performance data from online courses with its faculty academic senates.

In a veto message, Brown called the bill unnecessary, and cited student privacy and cost issues.

“I am aware of the deep concerns that the sponsor of the bill has expressed regarding online courses,” Brown wrote. “These courses, however, could play an important role in helping to reduce the bottleneck that too often prevents students from graduating on time.”

“This is one of the reasons I believe that we should not unduly limit the introduction of online courses in the Cal State system.”

Brown has been a strong supporter of online education, including a 2013 experiment at San Jose State University that was canceled after dismal early results, prompting Pan’s legislation.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2014/09/29/6744704/jerry-brown-approves-community.html#storylink=cpy

Inland Empire has greatest need for community college expansion, report says

A California budget proposal to increase community college enrollment with an emphasis on the neediest districts should focus on the Inland Empire, the Central Valley and Los Angeles,according to California Competes.

A new report from the Oakland-based higher education policy institute argues that these regions should receive the vast majority of a proposed $155.2 million in new funding for enrollment growth next year, which Gov. Jerry Brown has prioritized for districts with "the greatest unmet need in adequately serving their community's higher educational needs."

The report examined factors such as the number of adults without a college degree, unemployment ratesand levels of poverty in a community college district to determine where California had the greatest number of underserved students that could benefit from furthering their education.

It concluded that, of an estimated 40,000 classroom seats the new funding would support, nearly 15,000 should be created in the Inland Empire, with about 10,500 in the Central Valley and more than 9,000 in Los Angeles. The report also suggested about 2,300 new seats in greater Sacramento.

"There are definitely areas in the state where enrolling the needy population is not easy," California Competes executive director Robert Shireman said on a conference call.

Community colleges must figure out what additional programs and courses would attract and most benefit those students, he added. "Those decisions determine whether a needy student is really served and whether they are served well."

The California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office condemned the report's conclusions, saying it would deny community college access in other parts of the state.

"California community colleges were forced to turn away 500,000 students from every corner of the state during the economic downturn," spokesman Paul Feist said in a statement. "To continue rationing education in some parts of the state but not others would not be equitable and would harm California's ability to increase the number of college educated workers that our economy is demanding."

PHOTO: Eduardo Ramos, center, has his photo id picture taken on the first day of school at Los Rios Community College District expansion in Elk Grove on August 26, 2013. The Sacramento Bee/Hector Amezcua

via: http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2014/04/inland-empire-has-greatest-need-for-community-college-expansion-report-says.html

Read more here: http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2014/04/inland-empire-has-greatest-need-for-community-college-expansion-report-says.html#storylink=cpy

Website allows tracking of Prop. 30 money to schools

Proposition 30, enacted by voters in 2012 to temporarily raise sales taxes and income taxes on the wealthy, was touted by Gov. Jerry Brown and other proponents as an alternative to making billions of dollars in cuts to state school spending due to state budget deficits.

Since its enactment, state Controller John Chiang reported Wednesday, Proposition 30 has pumped about $13 billion into local school district coffers. Chiang unveiled a new website, entitled Track Prop. 30, that allows users to plug in their local school districts and see their total budgets and the portions being financed through Prop. 30.

As large as the $13 billion may be, it's still a relatively small portion of K-12 and community college finances, which approach $70 billion a year from all sources. The website reveals, for instance, that during the 2012-13 fiscal year, the latest for which complete data are available, Los Angeles Unified, the state's largest district, had $5.7 billion in revenues from all sources, but Proposition 30 provided just $659.4 million or 12 percent.

Proposition 30, which raised sales taxes fractionally and imposed surtaxes on high-income taxpayers, generates about $6 billion a year and by long-standing constitutional law, a large chunk of the revenue stream must go to schools.

The tax hikes will begin expiring in 2017-18, however, and whether - and how - their revenues to schools will be replaced is still uncertain. Tom Torlakson, the state superintendent of public instruction, has called for making the tax increases permanent, but that would take another ballot measure or two-thirds votes in both houses of the Legislature, plus Brown's signature.

PHOTO: Students, dignitaries and supporters cheer on Gov. Jerry Brown who holds up a campaign sign and encourages students to vote yes for Proposition 30 at Sacramento City College. Thursday, October 18, 2012. The Sacramento Bee/Randy Pench

Categories: Ballot initiatives, Budget, California by the Numbers, Education, Gov. Jerry Brown

Read more here: http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2014/04/website-allows-tracking-of-prop-30-money-to-schools.html#storylink=cpy

via: http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2014/04/website-allows-tracking-of-prop-30-money-to-schools.html