Professor Sara Goldrick-Rab amplifies her perspective on the brief paper I posted this morning. The paper explains the facts about the Obama plan to make the first two years of community college free. In introducing the post, I wrote that she sought to “allay the fears of critics,” but she sets me right by saying that is not so. I also said that many critics worry that the plan is a subtle attempt to impose Race to the Top style metrics on community colleges and that she did not address this issue. She explains that she did not address the issue because it was not raised in the Obama plan.
Goldrick-Rab writes:
Hi everyone. Thanks to Diane for posting this. But I have to admit, I’m surprised and concerned with how you framed it. There are a few missing facts that your readers might welcome as context:
1. I co-authored a lengthy proposal for making two years of college free which was used as PART of the blueprint for this initiative. That proposal includes a thorough discussion of the resources required to do this well. Moreover, in a 2009 Brookings Institution paper, I discuss the need for a major investment in faculty and infrastructure at community colleges. Please see:
http://www.luminafoundation.org/files/publications/ideas_summit/Redefining_College_Affordability.pdf
and
2. I do not address the questions about accountability/metrics in this FAQ because they have not been proposed by the President, not because I am avoiding them. I’ve written on this topic in the papers linked above as well.
3. I do not “seek to allay the fears of critics” in the FAQ, Diane, but rather to honestly and directly address the common questions asked. This is not “propaganda,” for I am selling nothing and am not in cahoots with anyone. I support the plan and am explaining why to the best of my ability.
4. In full disclosure, it seems worth mentioning to the readers who do not know me that I am a member of the AFT’s Higher Education Public Policy Council, recently co-authored an op-ed with Randi on the same topic, and that I’m also a new member of the board of the Shankar Institute. I’m also very active in my local here at UW-Madison, and I work with faculty, staff, and students across all public institutions in Wisconsin. I do not align with any of the elitism of my home institution, and work daily to implement the Wisconsin Idea. See the latest iteration of my efforts at the Wisconsin HOPE Lab (wihopelab.com)
I look forward to a robust and informed discussion on this blog. Again, thanks for sharing the FAQ. This proposal is among the boldest we’ve seen from the Obama Administration. While I’ve opposed pretty much everything that’s come from Arne Duncan, I like this one– and I don’t think it bears his fingerprints at all.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
A question: what do folks make of the argument that the community college proposal will weaken undergraduate education all together, leading to more classes taught by adjuncts and fewer full-time faculty positions, since current C-colleges are adjunct-heavy?
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I would judge any proposal based on past and current practice. The attack on teacher training is occurring amidst the ongoing elimination of full-time jobs and pressure to create online classes at community colleges. Despite all the exposure of the charter movement and the flaws of blaming the teacher, the attacks are increasing exponentially. No one should assume that the community college will be left alone and it is already the cheapest way to get a the first two yeas of a higher education. As a former community college professor, I know that the most important need is that at-risk students get assistance in transferring successfully, to a four-year college.
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I agree totally that we have to be very cautious of any proposal issued by Obama. The reality is that we will have to remain vigilant to make sure what looks like a promising development doesn’t morph into a monster. We must also be careful, though, not to dismiss out of hand any and all proposals that might actually have some merit. Any endeavor requires a careful examination of possible pitfalls but not to the point that we are paralyzed. The reality is that it is becoming more and more difficult to afford any post secondary education for whatever reasons. I believe that part of that applying the business model to education is destroying education as a common good. Viewing education as a commodity changes all the dynamics and not in a way that benefits society as a whole.
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I appreciate that Professor Goldrick-Rab has taken the time to respond. I have a question or two for her, though.
Does she have experience teaching at a community college? If so, how much experience? And if none, how much contact with community college students who have transferred to the University of Wisconsin-Madison? How familiar is she with the institutions themselves? Community colleges themselves operate according to a different administrative model and educational beliefs, which are not always aligned with those of 4-year institutions, much less 4-year Research Institutions.
And yes, I have been an instructor at two community colleges and am well aware of the many and varied challenges cc students face.
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To answer my own question about Goldrick-Rab’s experience working in or with community colleges, I looked up her C. V. (that’s a “resume” to you guys in the “Real World”). It’s here if anyone cares to look:
Click to access Goldrick-Rab%201.18.15-1.pdf
Impressive credentials, Ivy League Ph. D. (Penn), lots of research grant awards, publications, recognitions, invited lectures (none any community colleges, however), but I am not seeing experience in the trenches with Actual Community College Students.
College affordability issues are huge, I will be the first to say (as a person with one child in college and another about to enter this year), but it’s only one part of the problem for community college students.
I am still interested to hear from Prof. Goldrick-Rab about her contacts and experience with this particular sector of American higher ed.
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Hi Sharon, I responded below- just want to make sure you saw it!
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Since spending on social sec is 900B, medicare/caid is 900B, defense is 800B, throw the college kids a bone and spend 5B, which would probably pay for two years public college for anyone who wanted to go. Chump change in overall scheme of things.
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It’s not just the tuition, but the other costs that will be incurred as a result on the colleges’ side. Don’t expect the states and municipalities to cough up the extra willingly. At least in my neck of the woods, community colleges are funded by local taxes too.
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Aside from the land and buildings, what is the average cost to educate a student for a year, 30 credits, 15 hours class per semester?
10K, 20K?
1-12 grade are in school about double that time or 30 hours per week for the low, low price of 10K per year, and that includes special ed.
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I don’t know the answer, TC, but the cost per student will vary widely depending on the state or region.
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Hi Sharon,
Thanks for the question.
No, I have not taught at a community college. However, I have spent 15 years on their campuses, speaking extensively with faculty, students, and administrators. I have traveled to 82 community colleges in more than a dozen states and listened. I have also worked closely with many community colleges in my state, and elsewhere. I have written a lot about this experience and their needs, and I hope you’ll read that work and see what you think. Here are some links:
“Challenges and Opportunities for Improving Community College Student Success.”
Review of Educational Research, 2010
Click to access 75%20Goldrick-Rab-2010.pdf
“Single Stop USA Implementation Assessment.”
This study was conducted at almost a dozen community colleges and conversations with faculty are reflected in the findings.
Click to access SSUSA-Implementation-Assessment.pdf
“Safety, Security, and College Attainment.”
This study is based on fieldwork conducted at community colleges in several states.
Click to access APPAM.Draft.10.28.2014.pdf
Please also see Putting Poor People to Work, a book I co-authored about the impact of multiple federal policies on the critical access work done by community colleges.
https://www.russellsage.org/publications/putting-poor-people-to-work
Best,
Sara
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Thank you for the references. Please keep us informed of your take on any proposals for community colleges.
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Yes, thank you. I appreciate the time you’ve taken to respond and to link your research. I feel strongly about this issue, as you might have guessed.
Perhaps, though, if you are continuing to pursue research on community colleges, you might consider spending a research leave to teach at one. I suggest this in all sincerity. Fieldwork is important, but to experience these colleges an instructor provides quite another perspective.
Best,
Sharon
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Sharon
We are on the same page. This is something I have been actively working on here. I’m trying to make it happen. Running the HOPE lab makes it hard, but soon….
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Unlike the stock market, with people like Duncan and Obama, past performance is indeed a very good predictor of future performance. It is naive in the extreme to think that they won’t do to community college what they’ve done to K-12 just because they haven’t specifically mentioned it. This is by far the biggest issue to be addressed before the “free” community college proposal is accepted.
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This seems like either head hiding in the sand or when your head is in the mouth of a bear, say, “Nice bear.”
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Just curious:
“I’m also very active in my local here at UW-Madison, and I work with faculty, staff, and students across all public institutions in Wisconsin. I do not align with any of the elitism of my home institution, and work daily to implement the Wisconsin Idea.”
Which home institution is she referring to as having elitism? The University of Wisconsin?
Jack
MSCS ’80 UW Madison
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Yes indeed I am– UW Madison. Have you taken a look at the actions of UW-Madison’s leaders over the last 10 years?
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Dienne.. I agree totally with your words …”It is naive in the extreme to think that they won’t do to community college what they’ve done to K-12 just because they haven’t specifically mentioned it…” Rab’s intentions may be good but she is likely being used. It would be good for her to step outside of the university environment and visit a lot of public schools to see first-hand how directives (endless directives) attached to “free money” under RTTT are adversely effecting public schools. If the government under Obama gives “free money” to students to attend community college, they will surely be collecting required and endless data on how these students are doing. This will also entail tests to ensure progress and government-created reviews of the professors teaching these students and collection of data on these teachers given that their students are studying under “free” govt money!!! And before you know it, the government will require that students taking “x” course must have the same set of books whether it is a community college in San Jose, CA or Ames, IA! And then an “expert” like Coleman will start peddling a nation-wide cookie cutter curriculum for each course taught at a community college.
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Obama’s record on education is ABYSMAL! I hope no body falls for the banana in the tailpipe.
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I graduated from a community college and I’m a huge fan – I would not have gone to college without a public community college.
Sadly, though, I just don’t trust the Obama Administration or anyone in Congress on public education anymore.The local community college I attended 25 years ago is weaker than it was when I attended. They hire too many poorly-paid adjuncts. There are local people working as adjuncts there now who I know personally and who have no business teaching anyone anything. It’s like they’re hiring anyone with a graduate degree. They’ve devalued their whole workforce.
Why don’t they just rebuild the community college system we have? It’s not as exciting as “free for everyone”, but I think the idea was each successive generation was supposed to invest for the next generation to come along. I don’t think we do that anymore. These public institutions don’t just roll along forever without continued investment and care. We’re supposed to be building (or at least maintaining) something that lasts, and we’re not.
.
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When you factor in Pell Grants Community College is essentially free for low income students. When I attended Community College from 2000 through 2001 it was entirely free and I even had extra money in my pocket after each semester. Read between the lines people this is one big giant lie plain and simple. How many times are we going to believe the rhetoric of this administration only to see actions that are totally contradictory of what is being sold to us.
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Mine was essentially free, too. I had a grant for the first year and then they had money available for anyone with a certain GPA after that. I went part time while working and the biggest problem wasn’t money, it was time. My middle son is taking skilled trades training (part time) at a community college and it’s affordable. He’s paying about 1/4 of the cost out of pocket, part time. His employer pays some and the rest comes from a Dept of Labor grant to the school.
I sort of agree that every administration vows to support community colleges. I remember Bush came out here during one of his campaigns to pledge his undying love and then we never heard another thing about it 🙂
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It is completely inaccurate to claim that for Pell recipients community college is free. In fact, as my FAQ clearly explains (with federal data) it costs Pell recipients an average of $8,000 a year for community college.
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https://www.russellsage.org/publications/putting-poor-people-to-work
I don’t think we are doing justice to the research that Sara Goldrick-Rab has conducted. I do not quite understand the level of hostility that has been directed at her as a researcher when this blog is owned by a research professor. Our personal experiences only carry us so far before we have to examine a larger pool of information. Just from reading the abstracts and the book description, I am inclined to think that Goldrick-Rab may have some useful policy proposals. Everything good about public education has been soiled by reform machinations, so the temptation is to think that even a partial acknowledgement that there may be some good to come from Obama is capitulation.
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Please name ONE education policy that has come from Obama which has been “good” and not monetized to the benefit of profiteers, such as the Social Impact Bonds that are promoted along with Early Intervention/Universal PreK.
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You said, “I do not quite understand the level of hostility that has been directed at her as a researcher when this blog is owned by a research professor.”
I might be able to explain why you sense the distrust and hostility here—after what the reformers have put teachers through for decades starting with the Walton’s voucher movement and more than thirty years of their propaganda and smear tactics to scapegoat public school teachers in addition to Arne Duncan, NCLB’s insane mandate that 100% children must be college and career ready by age 17/18, and all the Common Core crap from the Obama administration thanks to Bill Gates and his $ support, it will take a lot more than even a proposal that sounds good to win everyone over.
I don’t think were’ going to find many people who actually work in public sector education with children that live in poverty or are at risk for other reasons who will start to celebrate as if this horror were over. It’s not over by a long shot and we should distrust everything that comes along even if it looks good, and only trust when it has been earned the hard way by delivering—-and not from promises from anyone.
This war is not over any more than the war with Islamic terrorists is going to be over soon. We are in it for the long haul and must always be on guard.
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There still may be some good to come from Obama? Then you wonder why these crooks so brazenly demean teachers at every instance possible. You sir are nieve beyond comprehension. What good have you seen coming from Mr. Obama in seven years? Crickets……………
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I don’t think the tone here has been hostile, just very skeptical. I also don’t think it’s unreasonable to question the claims Prof. Goldrick-Rab has made regarding the possible benefits of Obama’s proposal. I even said above that I see there is some justification for the claim that the proposal might have a modest, MODEST, positive effect for some, SOME, community college students. I believe however that there are many other factors to consider which will likely negate that effect.
Colleges (and not just the two-year institutions) are already ramping up the assessments and accountability measures, so I suspect that this new proposal would only add to that process, creating more frustration and even less autonomy for faculty at community colleges. I don’t think the proposal will have any positive impact on the quality of instruction at community colleges.
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Sara Goldrick-Rab (@saragoldrickrab)
February 6, 2015 at 8:40 pm
It is completely inaccurate to claim that for Pell recipients community college is free. In fact, as my FAQ clearly explains (with federal data) it costs Pell recipients an average of $8,000 a year for community college.”
I read it and thanks for responding. I didn’t intend to speak for every community college student and I’m sure you’re right, nationally, on the average. Mine was just one person’s experience and it was a long time ago.
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In the post above “nieve” should be “naïve”. Sorry!
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I don’t know what Community College you are referring to but in Florida $8,000 will pay for all of the classes for a full time student including books. Are you are claiming that after Pell Grants students still need an additional $8,000 to cover school related expenses? If so then that Community College is nothing but a 4 year University in disguise and is robbing students blind. Last year I took 6 Science courses in one semester and the cost was $1700 for tuition and these Science classes had many additional fees tacked on. The next semester, I took an additional 6 Science courses and again I paid about $1800. That equates to $3500 for 2 thirds of the year. If I would have repeated the same during a third term it would gave come out to close to $4200 in tuition for an entire academic year excluding textbooks. Now I doubt many students are even taking 6 courses every semester so that figure should even be lower than $4200 for most students. Pell grants would have absolutely covered all of those expenses and then some. I just logged into my nslds.gov account and it clearly states that I received $13,994 in Pell Grants from 2000 thru 2003. This would pay completely for Community College TODAY even though these are figures from close to 15 years ago. In addition, to the poster above, there is no hostility towards the author of the paper, I just don’t want to hear of any proposal pertaining to education coming from a crony capitalist President who has proven over and over again that he is nothing more than an extension of Corporate interests that have permeated all facets of our lives and frankly myself as well as others are simply sick and tired of it.
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You also have to add other forms of aid into the equation as well. I remember I when I was an undergrad student I was awarded a Florida Access grant in addition to the Pell Grants. In fact, I went on after Community College to attend Barry University a very expensive Private College where I received my Bachelor’s in Mathematical Sciences. At the time (2001) the tuition was around $555.00 per credit. My entire tuition at Barry for my two years there was close to $40,000 of which $35,000 was entirely paid by grants and other forms of aid excluding loans. I only had to borrow about $5,000 during my final semester. So essentially my entire education from year one thru four was almost one hundred percent paid for by grants. Now I did have extremely good grades that may have had something to do with it but again that’s what we go to school for. You can’t just offer to throw money at everyone to go to College because it will end up being a huge waste of money. The reality is not everyone is going to succeed in College and even if they did, we would basically have to create jobs out of thin air to accommodate these graduates.
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I am citing federal data, not data from a single college. I am quoting to you the net price, which is officially the institution’s Cost of Attendance minus all grants. For a low income student today, that figure is $8,300 at the nation’s community colleges. See Tanke 1 in my free college paper.
I’m glad you had a different experience, and expect that you understand that it was an unusual one.
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Despite all the hoopla surrounding the American College Promise (ACP), it is destined to meet the same fate as two other Obama Administration proposals concerning the community college: The American Graduation Initiative (AGI) and the Community College to Career Fund. Both went unfunded, and in both cases the administration didn’t put up much, if any, fight to save them. And, as Professor Goldrick-Rab pointed out when the AGI was dropped, community college organizations, like the AACC, have little political capital in Washington to affect policy.
The American College Promise is DOA.
The argument that the ACP will at least engender a conversation about community college access is also flawed. Community colleges were barely discussed during 2014 midterm elections and will no doubt disappear from the conversation as the 2016 elections draw near. And that may actually be a good thing.
Sadly, the most lasting impact of the Obama Administration on community colleges will be its narrative of community colleges as “job-training centers.” That narrative has resonated with the business community and state politicians who control funding. Community colleges are no longer about access, education, students, and citizenship. They are now described in economic terms and are about training, workers, and the workforce.
Over the past six years I have watched as academic programs have been cut from community colleges across the country. The community college where I have taught for twenty-nine years is systematically cutting general education courses out of AAS degrees, all under the guise of job training.
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Keithkroll, don’t you think that the tension in community colleges between vocational training and general education has been there all along, with the emphasis clearly on the former?
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Also, I agree, the proposal is DOA.
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Those numbers are either seriously inflated or I’m just lucky to live in Florida. Florida International University which is a four year University has its tuition listed at roughly $6000 for thirty credits using your numbers Community Colleges average net costs are atleast over $10,000 per year. Why would I pay that much to attend a Community College when the costs are right on par with some four year Universities or even higher. Wasn’t the purpose of Community Colleges centered around affordability? If your numbers are correct, then Community Colleges are no longer fulfilling their purposes. Where is all the money from these outrageous tuition costs going? One thing is for sure it sure as hell isn’t ending up in the pockets of the Professors.
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RealOne: Numbers are up bc state support is down.
Sharon: Yes it is DOA in the near term but we all knew that including the WH. The point here is the broader move to free college and all that that can bring.
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@TheRealOne, I believe the figures being presented in Sara’s research include costs beyond tuition. Of course students incur other costs. At community colleges this will often involve expenses that most traditional undergrads do not have, such as child care.
But, @Sara, much like universal, single-payer health insurance, I don’t think it’s remotely possible to make all of American higher ed completely “tuition-free”. I don’t even think it’s a desirable thing to do. Having said that, I think it’s still worthwhile to run different models to gauge the effects, both positive and negative, for students and for the institutions. Working to make college more affordable I feel is a more realistic goal so that students do not fall into crushing debt.
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Professor Goldrick-Rab:
I have been a great admirer of your research on community colleges. But I have to tell you, I was quite dismayed to learn that your latest report on community college affordability was funded by Lumina.
I realize that as a researcher you need funding for your work, but Lumina?! I think being funded by Lumina tarnishes the report.
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Keith,
Lumina provided funding (and for the record has funded my work in the past) but nothing else. I was asked what I would like to write about and given funds to support my time to write exactly that. No one, and I mean no one, attempted to influence my work, no one edited it, or touched it in any way.
I have received funding from numerous foundations and enjoyed this hands off experience with them all. I think my record shows quite clearly that if there was any untoward attempts at influence I would be the very first to admit it. I’m tenured, paid a decent wage, and not at all in debt to any funder.
The same goes for my recent book co-authored with an academic from AEI, by the way. I challenge anyone to review my writing and identify any indication that I have been compromised. There was one such effort made 5 years ago and when I perceived it, I ended the relationship and removed my name from the paper. I won’t stand for it.
Sara
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Thanks for your thoughtful comments and your efforts to move things ahead for many people in this country. At some point the country moved from having free elementary to having free secondary school. That was progress.
You are suggesting that the country take the next step. Thanks for doing this.
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I read through all the comments and want to express something that I think is being overlooked or lost in all these discussions.
Community Colleges are or can be an integral part of transitioning students into the university setting. They are varied and can’t be defined as any one specific entity. And, the professors there are just as varied. So, I don’t mean to categorize Community Colleges beyond saying that they have a place or many places in the educational system.
To get to my point, I have been a teacher of sorts since I was in the third grade, being called upon to tutor the students who were struggling. It was the beginning of my decision to make teaching my life’s work. When I went to college, I was hired to be a Foundations teacher to help students who didn’t quite have the ACT score necessary to succeed in college, but who were willing to get extra help in math and language to get into programs such as Forestry. I discovered something at that time. These 18 year olds were quite capable of learning. They had some areas in which they struggled. Much of their difficulty came from being immature at earlier stages of their education. They got behind, got into partying, lost interest, etc. They weren’t learning disabled. They were maturity disabled.
Foundations programs aren’t exactly the same as Community Colleges, but they often serve the same demographic. I think it needs to be noted that not everyone who graduates in the bottom half of their senior class has “failed”. And, I don’t believe the system or the teachers failed them. But, I do believe that with the opportunity to catch up with their basic skills they can learn whatever they want to learn. It just takes the willingness to be mature enough to persevere.
Also, Adult Basic Education courses can help give adults the ability to gain confidence and feel that they can succeed with college level coursework. Again, it takes maturity to persevere.
Common Core and “rigor” will not magically change these immature children and transport them into the land of knowledge. Time will get them where they want to go. That has been the blessing of America. Instead of some regimented forced learning process, we have had the time to figure out what we want to do with ourselves. However, the blessing hasn’t been grasped by all. It has been abused and caused many failures. The number of students who drop out of college by their Sophomore year is a sad indictment of the perils of college social life and the immature way students deal with being away from the watchful eyes of their parents for the first time.
Community Colleges can offer an experience in higher education that doesn’t require that social aspect of the university campus with sororities, fraternities, lack of supervision, drugs, sex, and resulting failure and wasted time. The Foundations Program can offer a similar opportunity but the students still need to deal with the social aspects of campus life.
I could present many examples of people who became great students as adults. They would not have done so well without intervening years to mature or a support system to get them beyond the errors of their high school experience or life experience.
One example: A fellow teacher. She was a “C” student in high school. She got married, became a hair dresser, then worked with small electronics repair. She decided at aobut 39 years of age to become a teacher. At that point in her life she was mature, had 2 children, was married, and was ready to work hard. She entrolled in college and had a 4.0 most of the 4 years. She got 1 B the entire time. She was in an educational honorary society. She now has her master’s degree. Time was on her side.
Another example: A male. Got 17 on his ACT. Had a 2.3 GPA in high school. Went to college. Took Foundations courses in reading and writing, increased his reading speed and writing skills. Graduated at the top of his class with a BS in biology. Got a masters in botany. Got a PhD in environmental science. Very smart. But, right out of high school, he had little confidence because he was a jokester, a clown, immature.
And, a final example. A female. Got pregnant at 17. Had a low GPA. Got into drugs. Had an abortion. Got pregnant again. Became an LPN. At 30, decided to enroll in college to get a degree in business. Now she is working on a double major in marketing and business. She has a 3.8 GPA. This wouldn’t have happened fresh out of high school.
My point. We are doing a disservice to students everywhere by trying to thrust so-called “rigor” down their throats before they are mature enough to digest it. We can’t force feed students to be ready for that which they simply aren’t developmentally able to grasp. Yet, we continue to play this game. And, we are hurting students.
I am not sure that the whole reason behind this is to enhance educational experience. I think maybe it is a way to turn education into a business that weeds out teachers as if they are nonprofessionals since they don’t fit the business model. A traditionally female field is suddenly inundated with male data gathering. We can’t justify all that nurturing to the male mind. Therefore, we will just abandon it and go for the data.
Community Colleges can give the opportunity for all students who WANT to pursue a college education to do so. But, let’s be sure that we realize that maturity is key to learning at the college level. Maturity comes in developmental stages. Of course, there are exceptions. But, for the vast majority of kids who seem to fall through the cracks, an opportunity to mature can make all the difference.
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Sarah Goldrick-Rab writes “This is not “propaganda,” for I am selling nothing and am not in cahoots with anyone. ”
Here are some questions, remarks from somebody who happens to be in the trenches of this whole free community colleges issue: I teach at the University of Memphis, the largest 4 year college that will be affected by the TN “experiment” with free 2 year colleges. I’ll be blunt only to be (relatively) brief, and not because I want to be disrespectful.
1) It’s very strange to see a proposal coming from a univ prof that is to affect the whole country. Normally, only politicians dare to be this irresponsible due to not necessarily malice but to ignorance about the true consequences of their actions.
2) Normally, profs are very careful, conservative in their experiments, and don’t experiment in and with the real world. Not because they don’t understand the real world, not because they are elitists who are above the problems of the real world, but because they understand it very well that “out there” the free variables are too numerous to be controlled, and they don’t want to cause damage (see the story of the common core “experiment”). We should NEVER confuse a large scale implementation of a program with science.
3) One major effect of federally supporting community colleges will likely lead to the weakening of 4 year colleges—and not just private colleges, as you acknowledge in the FAQ. For example, in TN, we now have to make steps to lower our standards to make transition from community colleges to 4 year ones smoother. Potentially, we lose all our general education courses since who would be crazy to take them at our university when they can be taken for free at a community college.
4) With the weakening of 4 year colleges come lower level instruction and even research in them: faculty senates won’t be able to stand up to privatizers who want research to be done for private companies, who want to spread online courses. (We do have confirmation that part of the strategy of privatizers is to weaken faculty senates, i.e. the power of tenured faculty)
5) With the weakening of 4 year colleges, the access of the poor to high level education diminishes. For a very large proportion of our students, UofM is their only option for a 4 year college education.
6) The fact that Gates and the Gates foundation are also supporting community colleges should give a pause to anybody studying community colleges. Gates explicitly considers community colleges as the first stage of implementing pet projects such as MOOCs or to eliminate tenure to have a fully controllable professiorate.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xf_rxN8Dqfg#t=2196
I want it to make clear that I am not criticizing community colleges, they are essential part of the US educational system.
Finally, I note that my education was completely free all the way from daycare to my Masters’ degree.
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I meant to post only this part of the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xf_rxN8Dqfg#t=2196
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