John Masterson readily admits his bias when asked to react to President Obama’s recent announcement that all Americans should be allowed free access to two years of community college after they finish high school. OBAMA’S PLAN certainly has its critics. Several in Congress noted “free” community college brings with it a $60 billion price tag. BUT, he also notes, the devil is in the details. WHILE specifics remain few and far between on how Obama’s proposal would work, Allen has a model that could be a good place for the feds to start.
As president of Allen Community College for more than 20 years, Masterson proudly notes Obama’s proposal recognizes the role schools such as ACC serve in today’s society.
“I was extremely pleased the president and his educational cabinet saw community colleges as the means to educating the workforce,” Masterson said. “He sees our dual role, and he understands. The federal government has understood the past several years the role of the community college.
“That’s been growing over the years,” he continued. “There’s a recognition, No. 1, our jobs of the future are going to require a skilled workforce; and No. 2, community colleges are still the best place to provide that knowledge and background for our future students.”
But the widespread support for education may make inroads, Masterson said, because of who would benefit.
“This could be perhaps the first program in a long time that’s come along with the focus more for middle class students,” he said. “Right now the Pell Grant, with the increases it’s had, pretty well takes care of lower-income students. Of course, for wealthy students, tuition is not near the problem.”
But working-class, two-income families frequently fall between those cracks.
“Maybe Mom and Dad both work, and they earn just enough that they’re not eligible for Pell,” Masterson explained. College costs, even at community colleges, can still be substantial, he noted.
“Tuition costs have a huge impact on the family,” Masterson said. “The strength of this country depends on the good, strong middle class that actually does the work. For that reason, I thought this was a good idea, a good place of focus.
“It’s like motherhood and apple pie, when you start railing against educating the middle class, that doesn’t resonate well with anyone,” he offered.
“I don’t know what its chances are,” he said. “I know it would have a tough row to hoe federally. And I know the state is expected to contribute 25 percent, and I think it would have a terribly tough row to hoe in Kansas.”
Political environment aside, there’s another reason for healthy skepticism with whatever might be passed.
“You want to look closely at federal programs, because they come with lots of requirements and strings,” Masterson said. “Those things can sometimes almost get in the way of what they originally set out to do.
“What happens, with the legislation, is legislators try to put together a good, solid program,” he said. “But they can’t do it themselves, so they have to turn it over to the bureaucrats, and their objectives may be different, or they may interpret the law differently, and it sometimes gets skewed. Those bureaucrats can make your life miserable, even though you’re trying your absolute best to adhere to all the rules and come out with all the outcomes the originators wanted.”
It’s happened in the past. Masterson recalled the Job Training Partnership Act, a federal program that provided funds to community colleges to help people train and find jobs as a mentor and adviser.
“It got to the point, there was so much time that had to be spent to get the reports done, there wasn’t enough time left for the person we hired to actually do what he was trained to do,” Masterson said.
So the college dropped the program.
“And it’s not the only one we’ve done that with,” he said.
For the past several years, the college has offered an Allen County Grant — up to $400 per semester — to county residents wanting to attend school here. That’s up to 45 percent of tuition for full-time students, as long as they maintain a 2.0 grade-point average. (Obama’s proposal would be more stringent, requiring students maintain a 2.5 GPA.)
Even with the added financial obligation from the college, the college still gets plenty of bang for its buck, Masterson noted.
According to the Board of Regents, Allen students pay $72 per credit hour, counting tuition and fees, third lowest among the state’s 19 community colleges. ONly Independence ($36) and Coffeyville ($65) are less expensive.
The federal program also could fit in nicely with the Kansas Board of Regents’ “Foresight 2020” campaign, which seeks to have 60 percent of all Kansas adults with an associate degree or above by 2020.
For now, Masterson said, he and the trustees will sit and wait.
“I guarantee this college will watch it closely,” he said. “We want to be a true player regardless of where it goes.”
ACC favors free college proposal
