Proposed plan would make community college cost-free for qualifying part-time students

On January 8, President Barack Obama informed the country of his latest proposal: free community college for “responsible students” across America.

In a video posted on the White House website, Obama announced his proposal “to make sure that community college is accessible for everybody,” by making “the first two years of community college free for everybody who’s willing to work for it.”

“It’s something that we can accomplish, and it’s something that’ll train our workforce so that we can compete with anybody in the world,” Obama said.

If all 50 states decided to invoke the new plan, known formally as America’s College Promise (ACP),  approximately 9 million students across the United States could each save up to $3,800 in tuition, according to the White House’s post.

The program would involve a number of conditions. Students would be required to maintain a 2.5 GPA while continuing to be a half-time student, meaning an enrollment of at least six to eight credit hours.

The program would also require community colleges to provide classes that have transferrable credits to a four year university, or occupational training programs that have high graduation rates and lead to in-demand jobs and certificates.

The tuition costs would be transferred to both the federal and state governments. The federal government would cover 75 percent of the average costs. If a state chooses to participate in the program, they will have to cover the rest.

Higher education experts have noted that ACP bears similarities to education programs in Tennessee and Chicago which also provide free community college. Obama’s proposed program, however, would entail a broader outreach.

According to the U.S. News & World Report, ACP would be available to “non-traditional students,” which include older adults, as well as young adults graduating from high school. It would also cover students working on certificate programs in addition to the traditional associate degree–seekers and students hoping to transfer credits to bachelor degree programs.

During his Jan. 22 State of the Union Address, Obama spoke of his proposal before Congress. “I want to spread that idea all across America, so that two years of college becomes as free and universal in America as high school is today,” he said in his speech.

The free-community-college proposal is expected to face a number of obstacles that could deter its realization. As USA Today noted, any legislation would require passage by a Congress controlled in both chambers by the Republican Party. A spokesperson for Republican House Majority Leader John Boehner already described the proposal as “more like a talking point than a plan.”

Another deterring factor may be its cost. ACP is projected to require approximately $60 billion.

 

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

http://www.usnews.com/education/community-colleges/articles/2015/01/16/obamas-free-community-college-plan-what-students-need-to-know

http://www.npr.org/2015/01/20/378680818/transcript-president-obamas-state-of-the-union-address

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2015/01/08/obama-free-community-college/21466969/]

Survey offers chance to voice opinions on campaign and election conduct

   With the spring semester now underway, the Student Government Association (SGA) has begun taking steps to improve students’ experiences with their own student government. Particularly, it hopes to improve the way in which students vote for their future representatives.

On Thursday, Jan. 22, the SGA released an Elections Student Experience Survey, inquiring about students’ perspectives on previous SGA electoral campaigns. The online survey, available on the myUMBC website, offers student-voters the opportunity to express their personal concerns or recommendations for the campaign and electoral processes.

Evan Leiter-Mason, a sophomore political science and economics major and the SGA Election Board Chairman, stated that the survey was prompted by several student-voters’ negative experiences amid last spring’s SGA elections. These negative interactions had been expressed to both the Election Board and members of UMBC’s administration.

“In particular, [these] problems included the way many students were made to feel unsafe in campus spaces by the campaigns,” Leiter-Mason said. In addition, he stated that last spring’s elections revealed concerns from students over how the Election Board resolves disputes related to the election process and results.

“The Election Board is working to craft a comprehensive response that addresses those two issues as well as other general problems,” said Leiter-Mason. “The purpose of the survey is to enable students to make their voices heard in this reform process and to help guide the Election Board in its deliberations.”

The survey specifically asks students to share any instances of being “harassed or made to feel uncomfortable” by peers involved in campaigns from past elections. Additionally, it allows survey-takers to propose ways by which they hope the campus electoral process is improved.

According to Leiter-Mason, the Election Board hopes to receive feedback concerning both interactions with SGA candidates’ campaigns and the elections themselves.

“To my knowledge, this is the first time that the Election Board has initiated a formal process of soliciting student input to correct election procedures and policies,” Leiter-Mason said. “But outreach has always been an important priority for the Election Board through its efforts to recruit candidates, inform voters and engage the student body in our shared civic community.”

The Election Board’s survey has already yielded feedback from students regarding last spring’s SGA elections. Thus far, the responses have confirmed a sense of dissatisfaction from the campus community toward the way the campaigns were handled.

“Students are extremely upset about the way campaigns related to them in last year’s election,” said Leiter-Mason. “Personally, my hope is that we can find a solution that lets the election be about students’ collective vision for the campus and not about gaming the system.”

 

[Sources: https://docs.google.com/a/umbc.edu/forms/d/1kxylxkGFoa_qm42H42AQ_tvvM7Ou1E-T8Q1R2Ilkwn4/viewform?c=0&w=1

http://my.umbc.edu/news/49119]