In Obama’s State of the Union address, he publicly introduced his innovative plan for the government to provide two years of free community college courses for students. Students who maintain a GPA of 2.5 or higher have the opportunity to acquire an Associate’s degree or to transfer their free credits to a four-year university. Obama’s plan gives all young adults the equal opportunity to get a higher education, find work, and then ensure the success of their own children. While Americans may have to tolerate slightly higher taxes, the plan will boost the economy while creating a more equal playing field for people of all socioeconomic backgrounds in the job market.
It is essential that these reforms be made for students who want to attend community college, but what is being done for the students in four-year institutions?
Our higher education system is considered a rite of passage for most middle-class Americans, yet the system is broken and will continue to degenerate until further reform is made. In-state tuition plus fees in public colleges averages approximately $20,000 per year. Students who attend out-of-state and private institutions pay at least $30,000 or even $40,000 per year. When these students graduate, they are often thousands of dollars in debt before even beginning graduate school programs. The job market has become so competitive that students without a master’s degree in their field often struggle to find work, forcing young adults into even greater debt before they are able to find their footing as adults.
The problem is only growing, as tuition and fees have risen by 2.9% nationwide within the last year. As of now, the playing field is not equal. Middle and lower-class America will only continue to suffer at the hands of an unsustainable system. Community college reform is a great start, but something more must be done to ensure that four-year universities are made just as accessible to the masses. Even in-state tuition prices are beginning to be out of reach for many families of Middle America.
While the situation may seem daunting and out of our control, change is inevitable. Students across America continue to hope for the reform that will allow them to continue attending their dream schools. Reform is being pushed in terms of community college to make it just as accessible as public high school. We can only hope that our government will begin to go through with reforms to the four-year university system as well. Loan forgiveness and a greater number of academic scholarships may be a good start to making bachelor’s programs around the country more accessible. Greater assistance by individual state governments may also make in-state colleges more affordable.
However, as tuition prices continue to rise and programs continue to be cut, students may begin to evaluate more affordable options. Instead of paying thousands of dollars for a liberal arts education, students may begin to take interest in more straight-forward career tracks through community colleges and online universities. Students who use these resources are able to finish their degrees in less time for a fraction of the price of a four-year institution.
The plan to make community college free to all should bring about many benefits. Everyone deserves a chance to pursue the self-sustaining career of their choice. Not only does this help the individual who will gain access to a free higher education, but it also helps our economy as a whole. It allows for there to be more active, contributing members of society whose earnings will help them make more investments than those who are only making minimum wage.
We can only hope that the same kind of game changing reform will occur within the four-year university system as well. If it doesn’t, we may begin to see more and more students shying away from the four-year institutions that were once considered an integral part of the American educational system.