Iowa community colleges: Obama’s free-tuition plan ‘exceptional idea’

IOWA CITY - In advance of Tuesday's State of the Union address, President Barack Obama has unveiled a proposal to offer two years of free community college to 'responsible” students.

As to what that could mean for Iowa, its students, its higher education landscape and its economy, community college officials said the devil will be in the details. And, many said, they'll be eager to dig into those details as they emerge.

'On the surface, it looks like a manageable program,” said Steve Ovel, executive director of government relations for Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids and lobbyist for the Iowa community college system. 'But there's always concern any time you create a federal program that's one size fits all.”

The nation has more than 1,600 community colleges and, Ovel said, they vary dramatically in mission, structure, funding and budget.

'So it's hard to know how a uniform program like this might impact the different states and their different programs,” Ovel said.

Iowa has 15 community colleges that enrolled 93,772 students in fall 2014, representing a half-percent decline from the 94,234 students in fall 2013, according to the Iowa Department of Education's most recent enrollment report.

Iowa's total community college enrollment remains above pre-recession levels, but numbers have been declining since the 2008 recession created an unprecedented spike in 2009 and 2010.

According to preliminary information released related to Obama's free community college plan, eligible students would have to:

l Enroll on at least a half-time basis

l Maintain a 2.5 grade-point average

l Show steady progress toward completing their program.

Community colleges would have to offer either academic programs that fully transfer credits to local public four-year colleges or occupational programs with high graduation rates that lead to 'in-demand” degrees and certificates, according to the White House.

The colleges also would be required to adopt 'promising and evidence-based institutional reforms to improve student success,” and the government in exchange would cover three-quarters of the average cost of community college. Participating states would be charged with contributing the remaining money needed to offer free tuition for eligible students.

If every state participated, according to the White House, the plan annually would save a full-time community college student an average of $3,800 in tuition and benefit about 9 million students.

‘It's a good thing'

With that limited information, Iowa's community colleges have expressed both support for the proposal and skepticism that it will come to fruition. Some say they appreciate the attention, either way.

'Any time we can find ways to improve access to postsecondary training and education, it's a good thing,” Ovel said. 'But given the cost and with a Republican Congress, I think it's very unlikely that you would see this kind of thing passed.”

Don Doucette, Eastern Iowa Community Colleges chancellor, said it's too soon to tell what level of support the proposal might receive and what type of impact it could have in Iowa, but he called the idea 'exciting.”

'It's great when the president of the United States uses his bully pulpit to promote the value of what we do,” said Doucette, with the community college system based in Davenport that enrolled 8,143 students this past fall.

'The message is that education and training beyond high school is essential and great to have, and the president is helping us spread that message,” he said.

Doucette said he thinks Congress would be wise to support the proposal.

'We offer the best return on investment that any state or government, or any individual, can make,” he said.

The president's proposal, according to Doucette, doesn't necessarily target low-income students, who already have plenty of federal financial aid and grants available to them.

'The focus here seems to be clearly on the middle class,” he said, adding that middle earners often make too much money for federal aid but still can struggle to meet tuition and living expense demands.

'And making proposals that are supportive of the middle class are in keeping with the general approach of this president,” Doucette said.

For Iowa, he said, the proposal would seem to address two problems - rising student debt levels and a shortage of skilled workers.

'The skill gap is often addressed by programs run by community colleges,” Doucette said. 'And solving work force issues is a major goal of any program that wants to boost the economy.”

When asked recently about the president's proposal during a taping of Iowa Public Television's 'Iowa Press” show, Board of Regents President Bruce Rastetter and President Pro Tem Katie Muholland said they support improving access and affordability for Iowa students but believe they should have some 'skin in the game.”

'I think students need to have some dollars invested in making sure that they know that it's an important part, rather than it just being free,” said Rastetter, who himself attended community college before transitioning to the University of Iowa.

'Even when we offer summer school for our students, we ask for a nominal fee,” said Mulholland, who has been superintendent of schools for Linn-Mar Community School District since 2003. 'So it depends on how you define free.”

The average cost of enrollment for full-time in-state students in Iowa's community colleges is $157.78 per semester hour in the current academic year, according to the Iowa Department of Education. That is 2.9 percent above last year's average.

Kirkwood's total cost per semester hour is $145 for in-state students. Eastern Iowa Community Colleges reports the lowest rate, including fees, at $137 per semester hour for resident students.

Iowa Valley Community College District in Ellsworth and Marshalltown reports the highest total cost per semester hour for resident students, at $179.

Rob Denson, president of Des Moines Area Community College, told The Gazette that even if the proposal eliminates tuition, 'it's not a free ride.” To make space and time for class in their lives, students must find child care, make living arrangements and buy course materials, Denson noted.

'I think it's an exceptional idea,” he added. 'Community colleges can provide a great education at a reasonable cost, and there are so many good jobs in Iowa and the nation.”

About 60 percent of the Des Moines-area community college's students transfer to a four-year institution after completing their program, Denson said, even though many couldn't have gotten in to those universities as freshmen.

Introducing more Iowans into the higher education system through community colleges 'would be a windfall for businesses,” he said.

'We need every person in the work force that we can get,” Denson said, adding, 'a little bit of help goes a long way with this population.”

Denson, whose school enrolled 23,526 students in the fall, said he's not concerned about how the program would be funded or about increasing student capacity.

'We'll ramp up to meet the demand,” he said. 'The return to society is going to be phenomenal, and that doesn't count how much better the lives of these people and their families are going to be.”

Jon Buse, Kirkwood dean of students, said he needs more clarity on the proposal to know how it might affect Iowa students, and he'll be watching the State of the Union address Tuesday.

'There are a lot of pieces that need to get sorted out,” he said. 'But we are excited about programs that promote greater access to higher education, and this would have that potential.”

Kirkwood, which enrolled 14,268 students in the fall, is 'wired in” to the needs of the local economy in a meaningful way, which means supporting its educational opportunities could provide a big boost for the economy, according to Buse. But regardless of whether the president's proposal is ever realized, he said, its message is important.

'I feel like this, more than anything, promotes what we are doing already and acknowledges the great work of community colleges nationwide,” he said.