In the 2015 State of the Union Address, President Barack Obama spoke of his proposal to make two-year degrees from community colleges in the United States as free and accessible as a high school education.

Obama’s Proposal

As far as outcomes go, the community college proposal will allow the portion of the population that does not have access to college due to their financial situation, to earn a two-year degree and hence a better career, Alex Thompson, ASFLC legislative affairs director, said. “In short a larger portion of a poorer population of Americans will get a chance to go to college.”

So far, there is not a lot of empirical information set surrounding the proposal, Thompson said. The proposal is bold and not looked at very seriously by the U.S. Congress just yet.

“By the end of this decade, two in three job openings will require some form of higher education,” President Obama, said. “That's why I am sending this Congress a bold new plan to lower the cost of community college -- to zero.”

This proposal may cause some consternation among four-year colleges because the demographic that will be receiving free tuition at community colleges will siphon away from the general four-year college’s business gains.

Education in Other Nations

Most countries in Western Europe and even parts of Asia offer four-year college education that is almost entirely subsidized by their form of national government, Thompson said.

“It’s just a different sort of value system,” he said. A lot of these countries feel that every person, as long as they are able, should receive a free college education.  

“However, in America we have a system that allows anyone to go to college as long as they have the economic resources and determination,” he said.

Why This Proposal Necessitates Bipartisanship

The political reason for President Obama’s boldness during the State of the Union is that there is nothing more he can lose, Thompson said.  “He has already lost a Democratic Senate and a Democratic House and there are no political repercussions for his boldness.”  

“The real chances of this being turned into legislation depends on a political environment in where Democrats and Republicans can work together,” he said. The political climate that we have seen in the U.S. Congress in the last six years makes this seem like a dubious proposition.

“Tennessee, a state with Republican leadership, and Chicago, a city with Democratic leadership, are showing that free community college is possible. I want to spread that idea all across America, so that two years of college becomes as free and universal in America as high school is today,” President Obama said.

The argument can be convincing and can also be non-partisan, it just depends on how it is delivered, Thompson said.  “If it is delivered in a way that is amiable to both Democrats and Republicans it’ll have more of a chance.”