Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
We inform. You decide.
Thursday, March 28, 2024

A plan from President Barack Obama to make the first two years of community college free has some Santa Fe academics and students at odds.

Obama said his plan, titled “America’s College Promise,” is simple: In order for students to earn two free years of classes, they will be required to attend school at least part-time, maintain a 2.5 GPA and make strides toward completing their degree.

Community colleges “would (also) have to do their part by offering high-quality academics and helping students actually graduate,” Obama said during a speech Friday.

Santa Fe College President Jackson Sasser praised the proposal, calling it a “noble motion” but said it’s “very difficult to conceive” the plan coming into effect anytime soon.

Regardless, the proposal would have a significant impact because it would mean more funds for the college, which in turn would increase its ability to help students, Sasser said.

Some people have been less enthusiastic, questioning the president’s proposal.

Dan Sheremet, a 20-year-old Santa Fe psychology junior, pointed out that even if classes are free for students, the money to 

pay for their classes will have to come out of someone else’s pockets.

“If the government is supporting (the two free years) ... they need to get the extra money from somewhere,” Sheremet said.

Caleb Redmond, a teacher at Windsor Christian Academy and a UF political science graduate, questions the timing of Obama’s proposal when Republicans have the House majority.

“Couldn’t he have pushed this when his party was in control?” Redmond asked in an email. “Many community college students (which is a large percentage of the overall college population) will probably adore Obama’s idea, and when the Republicans oppose it, the students will be outraged.”

With the program to cost an estimated $60 billion over 10 years, according to the White House, Redmond also questioned how the government plans to cover the costs of free college.

Enjoy what you're reading? Get content from The Alligator delivered to your inbox

According to the White House, federal funding will cover 75 percent of the average cost of community college for students eligible for the program. 

States that choose to participate in the program will be required to cover the rest of the fees.

“With a climbing national debt, we already have a huge burden, and adding to it seems absurd to me,” Redmond wrote. “In fact, it strikes me as strange that not only is our generation lacking a plan to repay our national debt, but we also seem indifferent to adding billions of dollars to it.”

 

[A version of this story ran on page 1 on 1/12/2015 under the headline “Santa Fe reacts to Obama's community college plan"]

Tuition and fees at Florida’s most popular community colleges per credit hour for state residents

Miami Dade College: $116.22

Santa Fe College: $125.33

Broward College: $105.90

Tallahassee Community College: $100.83

Valencia College: $112.19

— Data compiled from college websites

Support your local paper
Donate Today
The Independent Florida Alligator has been independent of the university since 1971, your donation today could help #SaveStudentNewsrooms. Please consider giving today.

Powered by SNworks Solutions by The State News
All Content © 2024 The Independent Florida Alligator and Campus Communications, Inc.