INSIDE HIGHER ED: New Energy for 2-Year Colleges

Career College Central Summary:

Community college leaders arrived here this week for their annual legislative at a time when the political chattering about their institutions appears to be at a fever pitch.
Public two-year colleges, which are scattered across nearly every Congressional district, have long enjoyed bipartisan support, if not necessarily funding,in Washington. But President Obama’s free community college proposal has pushed the discourse around public two-year colleges in a new direction, leaders say.
Whether that spotlight and attention will translate into actual victories for the institutions in Congress, though, is an open question.
The Obama administration seems to already be dialing back expectations for its free community college plan, which, as proposed, asks Congress to spend $60 billion over the next 10 years on grants to states that eliminate community college tuition for certain students.
James Kvaal, deputy director of the White House’s domestic policy council, told community college leaders this week not to expect Congress to pass the president’s plan in the immediate future.
“This is something that we’re going to need to talk about and continue to work on over a period of time,” he said, adding that movement on the plan might come from cities, states or through “incremental steps forward in Congress.”
Democrats in Congress, too, seemed to be framing the free community college plan as a lofty goal, not something on which they’re trying to whip votes any time soon.
“The president’s proposal isn’t a finished project,” said Representative Mark Takano of California, a former community college trustee. “It’s a conversation starter.”

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INSIDE HIGHER ED