Cohen’s Statement on President Obama’s New Grants for Tuition-Free Community Colleges Programs

[WASHINGTON, DC] – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today released the following statement in reaction to the Obama Administration’s new $100 million competition to expand tuition-free community college programs, announced earlier today by Vice President Joe Biden in Philadelphia.

“I am pleased President Obama and Vice President Biden announced a grant program today through America’s College Promise to create more dynamic, tuition-free education and training programs for middle and high skilled jobs,” said Congressman Cohen. “In Tennessee, we achieved this through state lottery funds, over $3 billion of which have been distributed to achieving students to assist in paying for college and have done so much for education in the state. While I wished that Tennessee Promise hadn't thwarted needed funding for the HOPE scholarships to grow with inflation and tuition increases, I'm still proud my work as a Tennessee State Senator is still helping Tennesseans with college costs.”

During his 2015 State of the Union address, President Obama announced his America’s College Promise program to make two years of community college free, letting students earn the first half of a bachelor’s degree or earn skills needed in the workforce at no cost by creating a new partnership with states. While Congressman Cohen has been supportive of the President’s initiative, he has been critical of Governor Haslam’s state-wide Tennessee Promise program because its source of funding comes at the expense of the Tennessee HOPE Lottery Education Scholarship. The Congressman fought for decades as a Tennessee State Senator to overcome stiff opposition and create the Tennessee HOPE Lottery Scholarship program.

Many aspects of President Obama’s community college proposal are in fact similar to the Tennessee HOPE Education Lottery scholarship program. By requiring students to maintain a reasonable 2.5 minimum grade point average (GPA) and achieve high standards in order to continue to receive assistance, the President’s plan is more closely aligned with the HOPE Education Lottery scholarship program that rewards high school performance. The Tennessee Promise program only requires students to maintain a 2.0 minimum GPA.

Today Vice President Joe Biden travelled to the Community College of Philadelphia to announce a commitment to make $100 million available through the Department of Labor to expand high quality education and training programs that give Americans the skills most in-demand from regional employers for middle- to high-skilled jobs. Grants will be awarded to pilot and scale innovative tuition-free partnerships between employers, economic development, workforce development boards, community and technical colleges and systems, training programs, K-12 education systems, and community-based organizations that will strengthen the pipeline of Americans ready for in-demand jobs, bridge students’ educational opportunities and employer needs, attract more jobs from overseas, and create more pathways for Americans to reach the middle class through the following activities:

• Increase opportunities for all Americans. With the rising costs of higher education, post-secondary education remains out of reach for many Americans. Grantees will develop strategies to increase tuition-free opportunities for unemployed, underemployed, and low-income workers to enter skilled occupations and industries. Grantees will use and align existing resources to help sustain and scale up programs.
  
• Expand employer engagement. These regional partnerships from employers to support program design and delivery and identify skills and competencies needed to meet businesses’ needs. Employer partners will offer innovative ways for skills attainment through work-based learning and customized ‘upskilling’ strategies to move low-skilled individuals up a career pathway with registered apprenticeship, paid-work experience, and paid internship opportunities
  
• Strengthen education and training performance. Grantees will reduce the need for remediation, and increase skills development through evidence-based interventions. Grantees are encouraged to use evidence-based designs that can increase the employability, employment, earnings, and educational outcomes of students, while supporting employers’ economic growth.