Baldwin Bill Aims To Make 2-Year Community College Free For Students

University of Wisconsin two-year colleges, technical colleges, and tribal colleges — along with colleges in other states — would be free for students under a bill soon to be introduced by Wisconsin U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin.

President Barack Obama touted the plan earlier this year in his State of the Union address and again last week during his visit to La Crosse.

“Now, in an economy that’s constantly changing, we’ve also got to give every American the chance to learn the skills they need to stay competitive,” Obama said. “That’s why we’ve got to be investing in job training and apprenticeships that help folks earn the skills for that new job or better paying job. That’s why we should make community college free for responsible students, like Tammy Baldwin is introducing the United States Senate. No middle-class family should be priced out of the education they need.”

Under the America’s College Promise Act of 2015, the federal government would pay for 75 percent of the two-year community college tuition grants and states would pay 25 percent, although states can opt out of the program.

The plan would cost almost $1.37 billion for fiscal year 2016 and a total of about $79.74 billion over 10 years.

Baldwin said better-educating the workforce should strengthen the economy.

“We also understand the need for America to out-educate the rest of the world in order to better compete globally in a 21st-century, skills-based economy,” she said.

The bill would also help low-income students get a bachelor’s degree and afford tuition at a four-year school focused on serving minorities, like historically black colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, and Asian-American and Native American-Pacific Islander-serving institutions.

That portion of the bill would cost $55 million for the first year in 2016 and a total of about $10.1 billion over 10 years.

Schools would have to make sure credits can transfer to a four-year institution.

Western Technical College President Lee Rasch said the majority of the school’s students are economically disadvantaged and receive some financial aid. He said students that receive scholarships have a higher graduation rate than those that do not.

“If we get better results and we can have more students complete, that’s going to produce more skilled individuals to replace retiring skilled workers, he said.

Rasch said that could help with the skills gap he often hears about from area employers. He said the bill needs support from the business community in order to pass.

The proposal is predicted to save students an average of $3,800 annually in tuition. It would not affect other financial aid, like Pell Grants, which could be used to help students pay for books or living expenses.

The bill may impact at least 9 million students nationwide.

So far, only fellow Democrats have signed on to support Baldwin’s bill, with more than 60 cosponsors in the House and 11 members supporting it in the Senate.