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October 13, 2009
Inside the American Graduation Initiative
In February, President Barack Obama called for the U.S. to lead the world in college degrees earned over the next 10 years. Five months later, the president proposed spending $12 billion over the next decade to improve programs, courses and facilities at community colleges so that they can produce an additional 5 million graduates by 2020. The Obama administration also outlined its plan to teach Americans the skills they need to compete with workers from other nations. What are the specific measures being introduced?
At the start of his administration, President Barack Obama set a goal for the United States: By 2020, this nation will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world.
In July, Obama announced plans to invest an unprecedented $12 billion in reforming the nation's community colleges over the next decade, and called for an additional 5 million community college graduates by 2020, including students who earn certificates and associate degrees or who continue on to graduate from four-year colleges and universities.
The administration also outlined its measures to educate the next generation while securing a world-class workforce.
"Not since the passage of the original GI Bill and the work of President Truman's Commission on Higher Education — which helped double the number of community colleges and increase by seven fold enrollment in those colleges — have we taken such a historic step on behalf of community college in America," Obama said in announcing the new initiative.
The American Graduation Initiative will build upon the strengths of community colleges. In addition, the 10-year plan is intended to determine what works and what doesn't, modernize facilities, increase graduation rates, and expand and create new online learning opportunities.
In the coming years, it is estimated that jobs requiring at least an associate's degree are projected to grow twice as fast as those requiring no college experience. According to Funding and Access Issues in Public Higher Education: A Community College Perspective, a 2009 survey by the University of Alabama's Education Policy Center, enrollment at community colleges increased by 2.2 million students in the five years from 2000-2001 to 2005-2006.
Yet nearly half of students who enter community college intending to earn a degree or transfer to a four-year college fail to reach their goal within six years. In fact, a recent report from the Lumina Foundation states that degree-attainment rates are increasing in almost all industrialized countries in the world except the United States.
Meanwhile, state operating budget support for community colleges declined last year by 1 percent.
Because community colleges are often underfunded, "new competitive grants would enable community colleges and states to innovate and expand proven reforms" under Obama's plan.
"About 75 percent of the money the president hopes to spend on community colleges will go toward creating grant programs for schools and states to test promising programs, ones that improve student learning, student completion rates, and schools' abilities to track their students' academic progress," U.S. News & World Report's On Education blog says.
Congress increased Pell Grant funding in early 2007, and again in early 2009, to a current maximum of $5,350 per year. According to the University of Alabama's 2009 survey, the latest increase is large enough to cover likely tuition increases at states' community colleges. Now the Obama administration is working to make the policy permanent and ensure the Pell Grant continues to grow faster than inflation. The American Recovery and Relief Act (ARRA) of 2009 and the president's budget together call for nearly $200 billion in college scholarships and tax credits over the next decade.
Meanwhile, funding for community college facilities, including new construction and renovation, is a major need, according to the survey, respondents of which overwhelmingly said that federal aid is required for school infrastructure funding.
"Community colleges are being asked to do more with less, and, in many states, our community colleges are bursting at the seams and in desperate need of funds for new and renovated facilities. If you short-change the community colleges due to inadequate funding as compared to their mission, you are undermining the economic future of our nation," Frank Mensel, Senior Fellow at the University of Alabama, said in the Education Policy Center report.
In the university's 2007 survey, the four most pressing community college facility needs identified by state directors were all instruction-related: lab space, general classroom space, computer lab space and office space.
"All too often, community colleges are treated like the stepchild of the higher education system; they're an afterthought, if they're thought of at all. And that means schools are often years behind in the facilities they provide, which means, in a 21st-century economy, they're years behind in the education they can offer. That's a mistake and it's one that we'll help to correct," Obama said.
In the first major federally funded community college construction project since the 1960s, some $2.5 billion of the American Graduate Initiative will be earmarked to build and renovate classrooms, libraries and other community college facilities.
"It's probably not enough; it's probably nowhere near enough," Stephen Katsinas, the policy center's director, said of the $2.5 billion proposal. "But this is the first administration since Lyndon Johnson to see the need." (Source: The Chronicle of Higher Education)
While investing in brick-and-mortar academia, the president's plan is to also build a new virtual infrastructure to complement what community colleges offer. The American Graduation Initiative will expand students' access to online education through "the creation of a new online, open-source clearinghouse of courses so that community colleges across the country can offer more classes without building more classrooms." The administration hopes various federal agencies will collaborate to make courses freely available through one or more community college and the Department of Defense's distributed learning network.
The announcement of the American Graduation Initiative came a day after the Council of Economic Advisers released a report on the expected shift toward jobs that require workers with greater analytical and interactive skills, and summarized the attributes of a well-functioning education and training system designed for the jobs of the future.
According to the president, the plan will not add to the deficit because the investment will be paid by "ending the wasteful subsidies we currently provide to banks and private lenders for student loans, which will save tens of billions of dollars over the next 10 years."
"Instead of lining the pockets of special interests, it's time this money went towards the interests of higher education in America," Obama said.
While it's unclear whether the president's strategy will succeed, it begins where nationwide innovation so often does: in the classroom and laboratory, and in the networks that connect them to the broader economy. Education remains a key building block of worldwide competitiveness. This initiative, at least, is a down payment on future prosperity.
Resources
Fact Sheet on the American Graduation Initiative
WhiteHouse.gov, July 14, 2009
Remarks by the President on the American Graduation Initiative
WhiteHouse.gov, July 14, 2009
Investing in Education: The American Graduation Initiative
WhiteHouse.gov, July 14, 2009
Christina Romer on Jobs of the Future
WhiteHouse.gov, July 13, 2009
Funding and Access Issues in Public Higher Education: A Community College Perspective
University of Alabama's Education Policy Center, Sept. 24, 2009
A Stronger Nation Through Higher Education
Lumina Foundation for Education, February 2009
Measuring Up 2008: The National report on Higher Education
The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, Dec. 3, 2008
Obama's Ambitious Plan for Community Colleges Raises Hopes and Questions
by Marc Parry and Karin Fischer
The Chronicle of Higher Education, July 15, 2009
A Strategy for American Innovation: Driving Towards Sustainable Growth and Quality Jobs
The National Economic Council, Sept. 21, 2009
Remarks by the President on Innovation and Sustainable Growth
WhiteHouse.gov, Sept. 21, 2009
Obama: Community Colleges Can Help Boost Ailing Economy
by Dan Lothian
CNN, July 14, 2009
Obama's Plan for Community Colleges
by Jessica Calefati
On Education (U.S. News & World Report), July 20, 2009
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10 CommentsThis country is in a situation where the government spends much more than it takes in. Our nation is flying down a slippery slope into bankruptcy or hyperinflation. More taxes is not the answer.
It's time to get the spending under control before more government programs push us over the edge.
Here's a thought. Instead of the government trying to buy more college grads, why don't we try to encourage the upcoming generations (our kids and grandkids) to better themselves without government aid. You know, use their own initiative. Take risk and responsibility without the government trying to spend us into oblivion.
October 13, 2009 3:07 PMThe reason many of the students’ fail, and money wasted is because of the quality of the students preparation whether because of the quality of their earlier education or the dedication of the student. Many of the young people qualifying for government support come from families that for whatever reason high quality education was not emphasized the “hard” classes weren’t taken. And if you did not do well in High School because you didn’t like it like you probably are not going to do well in college either. Drive, dedication, and work ethic unfortunately need to be learned long before college. They need to be taught at home.
October 13, 2009 4:48 PMHey, there's an extra $12 billion to spend??? Does accounting know about this??
October 13, 2009 6:22 PMFirst off, how would Obama know what in the hell the students would need when he has never held a job outside of politics?!? Secondly, the government's idea of Let's Throw More Money at the Problem has NEVER, in the history of problem solving, solved a problem. A fireman uses an axe and hose, a policeman uses a gun and a baton, and the government uses OUR MONEY! Clueless in America! You want to HELP AMERICA?!? Build more and better Trade/Technical Schools and the kids will come. Get rid of the idea that Everybody Has to Have a College Education!!! It's Nonsense!! Go back to the idea of Master, Craftsman and Apprentice and free manufacturing to do it's thing with the people it needs to do it!!
October 13, 2009 6:54 PMWith respect to the fact that nearly 50% of students in community colleges fail to attain a degree within 6 years, a major contributing factor, in my opinion, is the generally poor quality of teaching within the U.S. public education system.
Certainly there are many dedicated and excellent teachers in the public schools. However, it is widely recognized that high school students in the United States repeatedly, year after year, perform very poorly with respect to their peers in other countries, especially in the areas of science and math; for example, students from the U.S. rank lower in math/science knowledge than students from Croatia. This is due, in large part, to the fact that many public school teachers are simply not qualified or motivated to teach those demanding subjects; and those type of teachers are certainly going to fail when it comes to motivating and educating students.
Although a student may graduate from high school and may be accepted into a community college (where the student can certainly receive a good, solid education; but where academic entrance standards are also often less stringent than at a 4-year college), the student often finds college to be overwhelming.
So, before the U.S. throws more money at community colleges, our country really needs to do a much better job in addressing and fixing our rather badly broken public education system. Specific examples for improvement include: 1) teachers need to be better trained in their subjects and should not be required to teach subjects for which they've had no formal academic training, 2) tenure for teachers in public schools should be eliminated (now!!) and 3) school boards need to be much more proactive, especially in dealing with the powerful teachers union.
Finally, parents and students also need to improve, especially when it comes to developing good study habits and embracing a dedication to learning. Good education ALWAYS begins with the family!
October 14, 2009 1:53 PMHiring teachers who speak English would greatly help. Math is hard enough without having to translate the instructors' lack of English. Get rid of the teachers who cannot teach in English.
October 14, 2009 3:11 PMLike most liberals, always pretty frivilous with someone else's checkbook. There is always going to be rich people and poor people. It is because of choices made and desires applied to work ethic.When the rest of the population that pays no taxes but sucks up all of the services starts kicking in their fair share, we could talk about it then.
October 21, 2009 12:04 PMI do not agree with the policy on changing the U.S. college degree program to compete with workers of other nations. I trust American workers are mostly competence with good dedication in their works. Especially those workers from technicians onward, the way workers in U.S. produce products of good quality and reliable products from good design till manufacturing.
U.S. workers definitely are not losing out from others, simply the policy of politicians had created the trouble of its own citizens to be frank, spent billions of dollar for something is not worth or benefit to the Americans.
Again, the buying of cheap product behaviour is also the key factor for the American economy losing out to others. Americans should maintain the buying of good quality, by then all are on equal ground to compete. America losing an economy is self-created. Looking into real reasons with the proper corrective is what Americans need to practise immediately.
May God bless Americans.
October 21, 2009 6:08 PM12 billion....200 billion - Where is this money comming from? When you take from those who have worked to earn what they have, and give to those who don't. Two things happen. First you create a group who feels that they deserve to given everything. Second, you create a group who will stop working to fund those who don't work.
October 22, 2009 10:41 AMBillions more to be spent by the government with no mention of the source for these funds. The country is spending money like a drunken sailor. Soon we will not be our own masters as foreign interests own more and more of the U.S. I fear the day the Chinese start making economic demands that we don't like or need.
October 28, 2009 9:18 AM
