Yesterday, the President announced his “America’s College Promise” proposal. It makes two years of community college free for responsible students.
Yes, you read that right. Under his plan, any student who earns good grades would get two years of community college education at no cost .
Think about this: The President’s new proposal would let students earn the first half of a bachelor’s degree, or get the skills they’ll need when they enter the workforce after school.
When it’s fully implemented, the move could benefit about 9 million students per year. And a full-time community college student could save, on average, $3,800 in tuition each year.
In fact, Tennessee and Chicago have already started similar tuition-free community college programs, and the demand has been amazing: 57,000 students, representing almost 90 percent of Tennessee’s high school graduating class, applied to Tennessee’s program in just its first year.
In order to succeed in the 21st century economy, access to some form of higher education is a must — so it only stands to reason that we should make it more accessible and affordable to more of America’s students.
Let’s help out our next generation of students, and put them on the road to success.
Thanks,
Arne
Secretary Arne Duncan
Department of Education
@ArneDuncan
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