President Obama Offers a Boost to Community Colleges
July 24th, 2009Last week President Obama announced the American Graduation Initiative, a 10-year, $12 billion plan focused on community colleges. Community colleges play an integral role in the American higher education system and will play an even bigger role as America works toward President Obama’s goals of regaining America’s place as the world’s leader in college completion rates and establishing an American workforce that is able to compete with that of other nations.
According to a May 2009 report published by the Brookings Institute, enrollments in community colleges increased between 2000-2001 and 2005-2006 by 2.3 million students. In total, community colleges enroll approximately 45 percent of the nation’s college students. Community college populations represent far greater diversity than is found on traditional four-year campuses. According to the Brookings Institute, in 2004, 67 percent of Latino and 47 percent of African-American students entering college were enrolling in community colleges. Given the large volume of community colleges in the nation, they provide affordable and convenient options for many groups otherwise underrepresented in other higher education institutions. Community colleges are also appealing for non-traditional-aged college students, many of whom are juggling families and full time jobs.
