White House budget attacks higher education for working class students

[Hannah Bell]

In July of 2009, newly elected President Obama spoke in Jackson, Michigan, and declared, “Education is the way forward...” His administration’s proposed federal budget for fiscal year 2012 will limit access to higher education for countless working class students, while bringing the failed “Race to the Top” model used in K-12 to colleges and universities.

The administration proposes to ax $100 billion from federal higher education funding by restricting access to Pell Grants... The White House, which has trumpeted the fact that it will maintain the maximum grant award at $5,500, is proposing to change the scholarship rules such that students can receive only one grant a year, as opposed to two... most Pell Grants go to students with family incomes below $30,000 a year... The argument that their educational prospects will be unaffected by the loss of thousands of dollars of grant money every year is false.

The White House proposes to introduce the “Race to the Top” (RTTT) competitive funding model... The proposed federal budget’s strategy for forcing this model into higher education is entitled, “A ‘First in the World’ Competition Among Colleges and Universities...” What underlies both of these initiatives is a shift in federal funding formulas. Historically, money has been disbursed to higher education institutions on the basis of how many students they enroll... the White House proposes to finance colleges and universities on the basis of how many students complete their degrees.

What are the implications of this...? this will lead to a reduction in the number of lower-level and remedial courses offered at universities and colleges... In forcing colleges and universities to divert funding away from large lower-level and remedial courses towards more advanced classes, the federal government will make it harder for working class students with a weak high school education to get a college degree. There will not be enough slots in lower-level classes, and many will simply not have the skills to take on more advanced coursework. Those who are unable to succeed in the new environment will be labeled as failures and the public schools will be further blamed for not producing “college-ready” students...

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/may2011/high-m21.shtml

[dkf]

1. Gee maybe we should wonder why so many need remedial classes.

[Hannah Bell]

2. the same reason they do in every other country. class.

[dkf]

8. If they didn't learn it the first time round why do we expect they will learn it in college?

Are the professors so much better than teachers?

[FLAprogressive]

3. Don't agree w/ cutting student aid, but I think we need to stop the "College for All" crap.

College is not right for everyone, and this "college for all" shit is bankrupting a lot of people. Some people do not need a college degree for the type of career they want to pursue, and a vocational/technical school would be more cost-effective. A lot of careers through these programs can end up being very rewarding....

We also need to stop the for-profit colleges and career schools that bilk low-income people out of money and rely on federal aid $$$.

[Angry Dragon]

4. If you want to stop the college for all then you

better figure out a way for the ones that don't go to college to make a living wage and not a poverty wage
You can't get a government job without a college degree, unions are being busted up all over, people that don't have a college degree are looked down upon.

I agree with your last sentence............

[FLAprogressive]

5. Plenty of vocational/technical schools (often operated at the county level) offer training that

leads to well-paying careers.

You can train to become a police officer, firefighter, paramedic, chef, mechanic, etc.

While they are not CEO pay, a lot of these skilled jobs pay living wages and it costs a lot less time and money to train for.

[Angry Dragon]

6. Every thing you say is true

What I see happening is all those jobs you speak of are being attacked more and more every day
Get rid of the unions and then what do you have??

[Hannah Bell]

7. voc/tech ed is being privatized. that's what all those heart-tugging ads on tv

are about.

"i studied at corporate-tech-school, now i have a 'career' & everybody respects me!'

[FLAprogressive]

9. See my previous post....the for-profit schools are a problem. I'm talking about public vo/tech

schools. Not ITT Tech/etc. which often costs MORE than a real college.

[Starry Messenger]

10. k&r

[johnaries]

11. Oh, for the love of Mike - we went over all this back in February.

The proposal was to return to only one grant a year, because there was no evidence that the 2nd grant (used for summer classes) did any good. In other words, the grants for summer classes were a useless waste of money.

The students will still get the total grant amount, they just get it once a year.

The Republican alternative is to cut the total grant amount - which WILL hurt the students, whereas Obama's proposal will not.

WSWS is not a trustworthy site. They constantly spin things to meet their agenda.