WASHINGTON–The White House announced a new initiative today: to make two years of community college free for “responsible” students across the U.S.
The reason? By 2020 it’s estimated that 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.
According to the White House’s website, if all 50 states implement the change it would save about 9 million full-time community college students $3,800 on average in annual tuition.
There are limitations to the president’s proposal: students must attend school at least half time, maintain a 2.5 GPA and make steady progress towards finishing the program. Community colleges will be expected to offer either academic programs that fully transfer credits to local public four-year colleges or occupational training with high graduation rates leading to in-demand degrees and certificates.
The federal government, under this plan, would have to cover 3/4 of the average cost of community college; participating states would be responsible for the rest.
Here’s a video the president made to lay out his plan before his State of the Union address later this month:
