Washington, D.C. — Today, President Barack Obama proposed to make the two years of community college free for student. The proposal would benefit 9 million students each year and save students an average of $3,800 in tuition.
David Bergeron, Vice President of Postsecondary Education at the Center for American Progress, released the following statement:
The president’s proposal to make the first two years of college free at our nation’s community colleges is an important step forward. It builds on the great success of the Tennessee Promise and begins the process of restoring public support for our most critical of public colleges: community colleges. As noted in CAP’s report, “A Great Recession; A Great Retreat,” community colleges bore the brunt of the spending cuts in public support while they continued to provide much-needed access to the kinds of education and training that are necessary to grow our nation’s economy and strengthen the middle class. We are pleased that President Obama responded quickly to address this problem.
Today, Generation Progress also released a series of 50 state fact sheets, ranking and analyzing state disinvestment in public colleges and universities. Anne Johnson, Executive Director of Generation Progress, released the following statement:
We applaud the president’s proposal to make two years of community college free for students who work for it. Higher education should be a public good. To build a stronger economy, we need young people to have access to the education they need and deserve without financial hardship or lifelong debt. In a time when states are investing less in higher education, the president’s proposal will help our generation gain skills and move our economy forward.
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For more information or to speak to an expert, contact Allison Preiss at [email protected] or 202.478.6331.