Calls for Free Community College as Fewer Go During Pandemic

 

The year-long pandemic has led to an overall decrease of students going to colleges. The drop, however, is sharper among community colleges in the United States.

In its latest report, the National Student Clearinghouse says that college enrollment² dropped nearly 3 percent overall. And community colleges saw the biggest drop of 9.5 percent from a year ago.

Doug Shapiro is the executive director of the organization. He warned that schools and policymakers "will need to work together to help bring back the learners who are struggling during the pandemic and recession."

Community colleges generally serve lower-income students. Most are two-year programs to prepare students for specific jobs or to continue at four-year schools. Many community college students attend class part-time and some are older adults already working.

The American Association of Community Colleges says tuition and fees at a community college average $3,730 a year while the costs at a public four-year university average more than $10,000 for in-state students. The information is from the 2019-2020 school year.

A different recession

The coronavirus pandemic forced many businesses to close and led to economic recession in the U.S. and around the world. In the past, people often attended community colleges to seek new skills, more education or job training during a recession.

Dr. Sanjay Rai is a senior vice³ president at Montgomery College in Maryland. He said that during the 2008 recession, the college saw a large growth in enrollment. But during the pandemic, the college has seen a 4 percent drop.

In Montgomery County, unemployment went from 2.4 percent in December 2019 to almost 9 percent in May 2020. Rai said that more than half of Montgomery College students lost some or all of their income.

"I don't think this is a recession," Rai said of the economic struggles of the pandemic. "I think this is an entirely⁴ different phenomenon."

Todd Kitchen is an administrator⁵ at Northwest Arkansas Community College (NWACC). He said during the last recession that started in 2008, enrollment at the college was at its highest. Over the past year, his school has seen a 10 percent decrease, Kitchen said.

Kitchen believes people are more concerned with safety and health during the pandemic. "I think with the pandemic it was a bit different because of so much uncertainty⁶, so much fear," Kitchen said. "It really caught us off-guard."

Both Rai and Kitchen said their colleges are working to meet the changing student needs during the pandemic. With increased need for vaccines⁷ around the world, Montgomery College, for example, is now offering a program in medical manufacturing.

"The most immediate⁸ need of our community is to find employment for people who have lost jobs because of the pandemic," Rai said.

Help for students

Britney Jenkins is a 21-year-old second-year student at Northwest Arkansas. She has noticed far fewer students in her classes, which are now online. As the vice president of student government, she has heard many students' concerns about paying for school.

In addition to tuition, students must pay for things like books, school supplies, housing, and other living costs.

"I am very fortunate that my parents can help me," Jenkins said. "But there are other students who when the pandemic hit, and they lost their jobs, they had to quit community college. There was no doubt about it."

Free community college, Jenkin observed, "would open so many doors for so many people."

Free community college

Seventeen states in the U.S. now offer tuition-free programs for community college. Many states, including Maryland and Arkansas, provide students with "last dollar" aid. That means the state will provide students the remaining cost of tuition after they use federal student aid.

This week, U.S. President Joe Biden presented a plan to provide two years of free community college to all Americans. The plan will also give up to $1,400 in additional assistance to lower-income students. Biden's proposal, however, will need Republican support in an evenly divided Senate.

A strong supporter of free community college is first lady Jill Biden herself. She is a long-time professor at community colleges and plans to continue during her time in the White House.

The first lady expressed her support for free community college recently in a speech at Illinois' Sauk Valley Community College. She said, "All Americans deserve the same opportunity to pursue their passions, get a great education and build a career that they love."

Sanjay Rai of Montgomery College said, "If there is any administration that can do it, I think it's this Biden administration."

Words in This Story

enroll¹ –v. to take (someone) as a member or participant

income -n. money that is earned from work, investments, business, etc.

tuition-n. money that is paid to a school for the right to study there

fee-n. an amount of money that must be paid

phenomenon –n. something (such as an interesting fact or event) that can be observed and studied and that typically is unusual or difficult to understand or explain fully⁹

uncertain-adj. not exactly known or decided¹⁰ : not definite or fixed¹¹

off-guard- adj. not ready

deserve –v. used to say that someone or something should or should not have or be given something

opportunity –n. an amount of time or a situation in which something can be done; a chance

pursue-v. to try to get or do (something) over a period of time

passion-n. a strong feeling of enthusiasm or excitement for something or about doing something

1 enroll   

v.招收；登记；入学；参军；成为会员（英)enrol

参考例句：

• I should like to enroll all my children in the swimming class.我愿意让我的孩子们都参加游泳班。
• They enroll him as a member of the club.他们吸收他为俱乐部会员。

2 enrollment   

n.注册或登记的人数；登记

参考例句：

• You will be given a reading list at enrollment.注册时你会收到一份阅读书目。
• I just got the enrollment notice from Fudan University.我刚刚接到复旦大学的入学通知书。

3 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

4 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

5 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

6 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

7 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

8 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

9 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

10 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

11 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。