el Don /SANTA ANA COLLEGE • TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015/eldonnews.org
NEWS
ON CAMPUS
EVERYTHING
BUT THE BOOK
PROMISED / President Barack Obama toured classrooms at Forsyth County Technical Community College. / SHAWN ROCCO / TCM
TWO YEARS OF TUITION
California educates 60 percent of community college students for free
BY JOVANY LEON / el Don
Education officials support President Obama’s plan to offer free tuition
for two years, but are unsure how it
will be implemented.
America’s College Promise would
require students to have at least a 2.5
GPA with part-time class enrollment.
Students must also be on track to
graduate in two years, or transfer to a
four-year university.
“It’s an incredible opportunity to
give post-secondary students across
the nation the opportunity to pursue
their post-secondary studies,” Santa
Ana College Vice-President of Academic Affairs Omar Torres said.
Torres supports the president’s plan
in principle, but he points out that
there are issues to overcome.
“The practicality of what it’s going
TIMELINE
1960
The California
Master Plan lets
students to attend
college for free.
to cost and looking at added costs
would be an interesting challenge,”
Torres said.
Funding of free tuition is possible,
according to Rancho Santiago Community College District Chancellor
Raul Rodriguez.
If the proposal passed, Rodriguez
said RSCCD would not be negatively
affected. The district receives funding
through the collection of property
taxes, enrollment fees and state aid.
California Community Colleges
Chancellor Brice W. Harris released
a statement Jan. 20 supporting the
president’s proposal to provide free
tuition.“For our students and the
economy, it’s time to work with
federal partners to move back in this
direction,” Harris said.
Until 1984, two-year colleges were
free in California. As of 2012, resi-
dents pay about $46 per unit