Review Of President Obama 's Goal For The United States

Community colleges in the United States develop rapidly and have become a vital component of the postsecondary education delivery system. As of 2011-2012 school year, 45% of all undergraduate students were enrolled in public two-year colleges, approximately 8.3 million students (Knapp et al., 2012. Cited by AACC Fast Facts). And it seems that with globalization and Obama’s education agenda, the trend of growing enrollment in community colleges won’t change. A high school graduate who decides to pursue postsecondary education may face with a dilemma--whether enroll in a community college or a traditional four-year college. Even within a community college, a student may be faced with a choice—enroll in a vocational program and enter workforce after graduation with a vocational certification, or choose an academic program with an intention of transferring to four-year institutions.

Recently there has been a lot of debate about the importance of college education. Students are asking if it’s worth the debt to attend a four year university or community college. Some are thinking what are the benefits of a degree is in the workforce. With college tuition increasing and state fundings lowering, low income students are struggling to attain a higher education. College institutions should have a role to provide students higher education and equal opportunity to students to increase social mobility yet intergenerational reproduction of privilege has produced inequality in education.

In “Public Community Colleges: Creating Access and Opportunities for First-Generation College Students,” Everett argues that community colleges have been increasing to higher educations by enrolling members of low-income, first-generation, and many more. Everett also argues that college is limited because of costs, discrimination, and precollege preparation. Julia Everett also states some challenges faced after admission such as, students who have their mind set to transfer to a 4-year university only 46% actually complete that goal and rates are lower for those with a low-income. Helping first-generations students is beneficial to the economic.

Kris, a wife and a mother, worries about the increasing cost of higher education. She and her husband have a two year old daughter whom they are determined to send to college. They want their daughter to succeed in life, but they have to weigh the complications of going to college as well. “I have always thought about college as a “catch 22”...You’re taught from a young age that in order to achieve the “American Dream” you must graduate high school and go to college,” Kris contemplates (Kris 5).Throughout Kris’s ten years of experience with college, she has seen the tuition increase to shocking heights. In fact, she claims that community colleges cost as much as state colleges did when she first started her college hunt. Back then, she

One of the most highly debated proposals from President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address is a new government program that would cover the cost of community college. The “American College Promise” would provide free tuition to students who enroll in a community college for at least half-time, maintain a 2.5 Grade Point Average (GPA), make steady progress towards completing an associate’s degree and cannot have an adjusted gross income of above two hundred thousand dollars. Obama has stated that the new proposal will benefit roughly nine million students each year by earning them an associate’s degree at no cost. Although the new proposal can be seen as a panacea for all incoming college students, the opposition is true due to the fact that community college is affordable, exclusive, and will hurt the economy by causing the current United States debt to increase.

Introduction: 5 a.m. The alarm clock rings, on a normal day you would dread waking up so early. But today, is not your normal average day. Monday, August 21st, 2017, is the beginning of your first day of a new journey of college as a freshman; the nerves of the unknown lingers on as you sat in the classroom, awaiting your professor arrival. Suddenly, the door swung open and a tall, muscular, Caucasian male walked in, commanding the class attention by his demeanor. The nervousness intensifies as he proceeded to call on the attendance. This is it people! the moment everyone, including your family, have been waiting for; first-generation of your lineage to attend college. Name by name each student signified their attendance by raising their right arm when called upon, but, there’s a problem, your name was not called on. What? How can it be? There’s no way! you are overcome with complete and absolute shock; realizing you’ve been dropped from your classes due to financial aid issue. To continue enrolling, you would have to pay out of pocket. The excitement that was there before, no longer remains. Countless number of young adults are overwhelmed with the reality of college and paying for an education. For many students, each year, they are the recipient of such a catastrophic experience. Unfortunately, I was the victim of this heart-rending incident; imagine a society where financial aid and student loans did not exist, but instead, the necessity of these financial programs would diminish because college tuition would be free.

The number of diverse students entering and graduating from post-secondary institutions is increasing at rapid rates (Education Trust, 2015; Georgetown University Center, 2012). Between the years 2003 and 2013, 77% of public institutions improved graduation rates for underrepresented groups, including African-American, Hispanic, and Native American students (Education Trust, 2015). Despite this increase, there continues to be a graduation gap between underrepresented minority students and White students. Nationally, 42% percent of Black students that enter college will graduate while 62% of White students will graduate (The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, 2005). There is a similar graduation gap for college students who are the first in their family to attend college, or first-generation students. Sixty percent of first generation students that enter college will attend college for six years without receiving a bachelor’s degree (Smith, 2012). Historically underrepresented students and first generation students face unique challenges and hardships that can make graduation difficult (Hunter, Laursen & Seymour, 2007; Jett, Curry, & Vernon-Jackson, 2016; Schwartz, 2012). High impact practices such as the Ronal McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program (McNair Program) are designed to increase historically disadvantages and first generation student learning and retention in college. An importance aspect of high impact programs such as the McNair

Obtaining a degree remains one of the most important pathways to economic and social class in the United States (U.S.), regardless of rising tuition costs and the value of having a higher education coming in to question. Of the 20.6 million students enrolled in a college or university, first-generation college students represents about one-third (The Institute for Higher Education Policy, 2012). These group of individuals are more likely to encounter academic, financial, professional, cultural, and emotional difficulties (Sanez, Hurtado, Barrera, Wolf, and Yeung, 2007).

The U.S. government has created a new strategy to make colleges more affordable for low income students. Federal student aid’s primary goal is to help as many students attend college as possible. Financial aid and Pell Grants help low income students who meet certain academic criteria cover the costs of tuition. Low income students are getting a chance to attend college and increase graduation rates from four-year institutions to help close the poverty gap. Colleges and universities should make low income high school students aware of programs that will help them enroll and afford their education. Schools teach low income students that college is a key to their financial independence and a better life. High schools teach Seniors that in order to improve your social standing, employment options and salary expectations, a college education is often necessary. Financial aid is central to the successful enrollment and retention of low-income students. The majority of these students (90 percent) getting financial assistance from government. By maximizing Pell grant award amounts for low-income students, reforming the student loan program, and eliminating bank subsidies, colleges and universities can be affordable.

The book After Admission highlights institutional challenges as a contributing factor for college failure among disadvantaged students. Though community college enrollment rates have doubled in the last thirty years, the level of efficiency of community colleges remains under scrutiny

Community college is a great institution for students to start their educational journey. Especially when they do not have the funds or lack some of the prerequisite that a university would require. Community college was created to serve the community, traditional and non-traditional students with the best higher education and lifetime learning opportunities. The faculty and staff members at a community college is there to provide leadership in education while going above and beyond to recognize the needs of the students and the community by providing excellent educational programs and support services that are available to all who have the opportunity to take advantage of them. “Student services now include recruitment and retention, counseling, student activities, student health, financial aid, academic support, career centers, transfer centers, and supplemental services such as transportation, child care, and services tailored for specific populations of students” (Cohen, Brawer, & Krisker, 2014, pg. 209). My philosophy in fulfilling the role and mission of the community college, is to establish the mission, vision, goals and values to guide all students on their journey to strive to become successful both in school and in today’s economy.

Students from low-income and first generation backgrounds often struggle in different academic subjects. Subsequently, students have lower expectations for themselves when it comes to academic achievement. The majority of first generation students come from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Seeing that, families work countless hours in factories and other places where they are underpaid because of the lack of educational opportunity they experienced themselves. According to Blackwell and Pinder (2014) in the United States higher education is becoming the outlet to different avenues of opportunity whether it is through social mobility or economic progress. While screening out possible topics of interest for a research proposal, one of the challenges I encountered in my field experience was the lack of college access education and funding for the families in the urban high schools. The first generation student family typically is unaware of the college process because the student’s parents have not attended an institution of higher education. Therefore, the students cannot count on their knowledge of the process. Eventually, when students reach the financial aid process it becomes difficult because parents usually cannot afford full tuition expenses and at the same time do not understand the process. In these situations, schools with a college going culture can prepare staff to provide extra support to students by developing professional training in college access, mentorship

Presently, the availability of educational opportunities at the college and university level is a critical state and personal interest given the needs of the state for a well-educated workforce which has never been greater. Too many, the focal point of attending college is receiving a high paying job in the future. Unfortunately, in most states, tuition is on the rise and students who come from low-income families find themselves struggling to fund their education. According to legislatures, “The cost of college in New Jersey, as in the nation, continues to grow faster than the rate of inflation.” (State of New Jersey 1). In the national financial aid policy resources that are typically given to the neediest families are shifting towards

As a current Retention Specialist, for the College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS), I have mastered group counseling. For instance, I have conducted over 100 academic advisement workshops. Aside from holding group counseling, I have prevented ECS Hispanic and Black American students from dropping out of California State University, Fullerton. Nonetheless, I am the face of a first-generation scholar who can relate to some challenges first-generation college students’ experience. These challenges may entail, working while pursuing an advanced degree, culture shock with the university environment, and overcoming learning disabilities. Remarkably, I have surmounted obstacles such as having a slight Reading Disability and successfully completing remediation courses during my freshman year in college.

College tuition has skyrocketed over the past decades making the pathway to college less accessible to low-income families. According to the