Obama Proposes Free Tuition for Community College

President Obama just announced his proposal for free tuition for the first two years of community college. The program is America’s College Promise, and individual states can choose to implement or opt out of the proposed program. Any student who has a minimum 2.5 GPA and is enrolled at least part time, will have access to the program.

It’s estimated that 9 million students could benefit from this program, saving an average of $3,800 per year. The government will cover 75% percent of the cost and the states will cover the rest.

Along with America’s College Promise, Obama is also proposing the American Technical Training Fund. This will teach vocational skills to students and put them on track to better paying jobs. The classes can either be held in community colleges, or training institutions. This program stems from the previously implemented program, Tennessee Tech Centers. This programs offers low income employees training in energy, IT, and advanced manufacturing.

If states do decide to implement America’s College Promise, they will have to do one of two things. Either offer classes that will either directly transfer to a four year local public school, or offer occupational training programs that are insured with high success rates in the job market.

Obama must receive approval from Congress before the program is implemented. His goal is to make college “the norm in the same way high school is the norm” for students in America.