Giving students two years of free community college is simply an extension of America’s historical emphasis on the importance of education, President Barack Obama told a crowd of about 1,000 at Macomb Community College.
Referencing previous federal efforts to increase educational opportunities for Americans, including the GI Bill, Obama tried to reinvigorate his plan to give at least two years of free community college to students who maintain a high grade point average.
Accompanied by Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden and herself a community college professor, Obama announced an independent College Promise Advisory Board, led by Biden, that will highlight existing programs providing free community college. The board will try to recruit more states and communities to do likewise and will also enlist celebrities in a public awareness campaign to press for tuition-free community college.
For the full article, see David Jesse, “Obama pitches free community college plan in Macomb”, Detroit Free Press, September 9, 2015.
For another, see Khalil AlHajal, “President Barack Obama invokes Ronald Reagan in Detroit-area push for free community college”, MLive, September 9, 2015.
David Shepardson, “Jill Biden shares Obama’s spotlight at Macomb college”, Detroti News, September 9, 2015.