Posted 07/15/2009 - 10:52:50am by Terry Nagel in Encore Colleges
President Obama unveiled a proposal July 14 to seek $12 billion for community colleges. The funding would be spent during the next decade to increase graduation rates, better prepare students for jobs, modernize facilities and develop Internet curriculum. It would be paid for with savings from the president's plan to end the role that private banks in the federal education lending system.
Announcing the program in an auto industry town near Detroit, Obama noted that many laid-off workers are seeking new skills and career paths. He said, "The hard truth is that some of the jobs that have been lost in the auto industry and elsewhere won't be coming back."
Do you think this funding will help more people find their encore careers?
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Read what David Brooks says
New York Times columnist David Brooks has weighed in with some insightful comments about the potential of community colleges under Obama's funding plan. See "David Brooks: Community Colleges Ready for Reform and Innovation." The beauty of Obama’s plan, he says, is that “it ties money to reform and has the potential – the potential – to spur a wave of innovation.”
He points out that community colleges have been short on funding and respect for far too long, writing, “Most people in government, think tanks and the news media didn’t go to community college, and they don’t send their children to them. It’s a blind spot in their consciousness.
“As a result, four-year colleges receive three times as much federal money per student as community colleges. According to a Brookings Institution report, federal spending for community colleges fell 6 percent between 2002 and 2005, while spending on four-year colleges increased.”