Consolidated Administration: The Key to Delivering a 60-Year Curriculum
Shift the status quo to achieve long-term success and viability for your university.
Affordability is a hot button issue in postsecondary education at the moment, and for good reason. The typical student graduates from college with an average of about $30,000 in debt. President Obama led the call for free community college tuition when in his State of the Union address, he said, “we still live in a country where too many bright, striving Americans are priced out of the education they need. It’s not fair to them, and it’s sure not smart for our future.”
Last month, Oregon became the second state to launch a “promise” program for community college students. The Oregon legislature—with the passage of Senate Bill (SB) 81—funded a $10-million “Oregon Promise” for future high school graduates who have a 2.5 GPA and for GED completers; students must enroll in community college within six months of receiving their high school diploma or GED. It differs significantly from the Obama proposal in that it is a last-dollar program, meaning that students first apply all federal and state financial aid and if there is any tuition still owing, the “Oregon Promise” will pay the difference up to the average cost of tuition. However, eligible students are guaranteed a minimum award of $1000. Proponents argue that the program will encourage high school students to file their FAFSA, thus having the federal government pay for most of the cost for the “free” tuition through the Pell Grant.
The program starts fall of 2016, and with all the media attention, a landslide of students are asking about free community college tuition. Most community college students, however, will not benefit from the program as it is only for pipeline students moving from high school or GED completion directly into the community college. This is to say that this program will not help the nearly 200,000 adults in Oregon attending community college. Further, the Oregon legislature only appropriated $10 million for the program, which will merely serve 4000-6000 students who either graduate or receive their GED in spring of 2016—yet nearly 30,000 students are projected to graduate.
Unless the legislature fully funds the program in the next session, the Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC), who is charged with administering the program, will need to make difficult policy decisions on how to ration limited resources. While early drafts of the legislation had proposed a “first-come, first-served” program, which may have benefited more middle income students who file FAFSAs early, the final version explicitly allowed HECC to target the program to specific high schools or school districts. This opens the door for graduates from specific low-income or underrepresented schools directing the limited resources to students who otherwise may not go to college.
However, the creation of this program raises an even bigger question. Given limited dollars, how should states best invest in community colleges? A recent audit of community colleges by the Oregon Secretary of State showed that only 55 percent of community college students complete a certificate, an associate degree, or transfer to a four-year school. What happens to the other 45 percent of students? How many of them have stopped out without a degree or credential along with increased debt? Perhaps the focus should be to ensure that students who enroll also complete their program.
As Oregon works to implement the “Oregon Promise” this may create a rare opportunity to craft a program that combines both the need for access and affordability with student success and completion. With one of the lowest high school graduation rates in the country in Oregon, the program might encourage high school students to graduate, and do so on time. By adding needed advising and student success strategies, Oregon can create guided pathways that help students complete their degree or transfer.
Oregon is up to the challenge.
Shift the status quo to achieve long-term success and viability for your university.
Author Perspective: Association, Community College
I’m a little relieved to see some tough questions being addressed in this article after everything I’ve read about the panacea that is the community college promise. It’s a wonderful thing, but it will not provide access to everyone who needs it right away by any means, and we need to serious consider how we’re going to get over these hurdles.
Using this program to help improve high school graduation rates in Oregon is a great idea. I think a lot of students don’t commit to finishing their secondary education if they don’t think college is an option for them anyway. I bet having this avenue opened up will change a lot of kids’ perspective.
I’m wary of the last-dollar framework, since there are already many barriers, especially for low-income students, to doing all the necessary paperwork to get to the point where they can make use of this new program.
Hopefully the prospect of two years fully paid for will add to the incentive and help people find ways to make it work.
Hello Andrea
None of the nation-wide “college promise” initiatives is even moderately adequate to address the crises in HE and the labor market. The Oregon program is no exception. You are correct, at $10 million of funding there is no chance the promise of free college can be kept for those in the system or those young and old who might want to avail themselves of the promise. And I am afraid that under the current model for HE, neither Oregon nor any other state is “up to the challenge.”
No, if you truly want free HE then the model for its provision must change. I have developed two alternative HE models that can easily provide free HE at all levels – introduced here on Evolllution. Among other benefits these models can provide:
2) Unlimited access to HE for all individuals
3) 75% reduction in the total cost to provide HE (i.e., the student and government contributions)
4) Billions of dollars in new revenue for public and private coffers
5) Improved quality of HE
6) Funding for non-educational student expenses
7) Migration of HE from the capitalist to the social economy
8) Solution to the academic labor problem
…and without reliance on technology, increased government funding or philanthropy.
Andrea, just imagine what it would mean to reduce the total cost of HE by 75%. If economic prosperity and social justice are important to you, then I encourage you to examine these models and if you find merit, then please rise to the challenge and help me develop and promote them.