Southern US Community College Students Cautious About Funding Promises

Community colleges are a first step in many Americans' higher education, but they're also a political football. DW's Gero Schliess asked students and teacher in New Orleans about calls to change the schools' funding.

"Without education, what is America? Supporting education: that's America!" said Tyron Braden, a freshman at Nunez Community College in New Orleans.



On the one hand, President Barack Obama in his State of the Union address has proposed introducing free tuition at community colleges for many students. But at the same time, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has proposed cutting financing from the education fund in his state - a move that would probably also affect Tyron's college.



Nunez Community College Chancellor Thomas Warner told DW that if publicly discussed cuts of between $250 million to $300 million go through, it could mean the closure of five to seven Louisiana community colleges. The sum represents up to 50 percent of subsidies paid into the system by Louisiana.



"That would be devastating," he added. "We have put together a very good community college system."



The college promise



The 1,200 community colleges in the United States, once commonly called junior colleges, offer a two-year program for relatively low tuition costs that allows students to transfer to a university or liberal arts college after graduating with an Associate's degree.



Community colleges are popular in the United States and cutting their budgets would mainly hit less affluent families.



"If you cut education, you cut people's livelihoods, the essence of any society: education," Warner told DW. "You need to have education."



Braden said he can't imagine Nunez College being targeted by cuts or forced to merge with other institutions. He said he is delighted with his classes in video and audio production, which he called the reason he chose to go to college.



After graduation, Tyron plans to set up a recording studio, and produce music with bands - and his entire family is chipping in for his education. "My mother, my aunts, my uncles, my grandparents - the whole family is helping me out," he said with pride.



Round the clock



Should the financial situation worsen, he and his family would have to adjust, he said, adding that he he could "pick up a part-time job and open up a savings account."



For 22-year-old Alex Tran, also a freshman at Nunez College, a cut to state subsidies for community college students would be harder to take. He said he can't imagine how his family would manage to pay additional tuition for him and his two siblings.



"My mom and dad work around the clock and are already paying for a roof over our heads and our necessities - for me to burden them wouldn't be great," Tran said.



Travis Tran, who is not related to Alex, said he's lucky: his parents are in a position to pay the required $1,700 per semester in tuition costs.



It's money well-spent, both students agreed.



"Schools are the root of our economy", Alex said. "It's very good to invest in something like that. It's an investment for the long term rather than the short term investments in companies."



Many politicians in the southern United States, in particular in Louisiana, however, don't seem to see it the same way. And that has David Bergeron, vice president for Postsecondary Education at the Washington-based Center for American Progress, nervous.



Funding halved



"I worry about Louisiana," Bergeron said, adding that the state never invested tremendous amounts of money in education. "Disinvesting in education at any level is a grave concern."



Funding for education has actually decreased over the years, Nunez Community College Chancellor Warner pointed out. When he took over as chancellor in 2001, the state funded the community colleges at about 80 percent. "That has dwindled and now, funding is at 38 to 40 percent at best."



The South already lags behind other regions in the United States. "Education in the southern part of the United States has not performed as well as the education system in the northeast or Midwest," Bergeron told DW, adding that is due to economic differences. "A prevalence of poverty in the South has a significant impact on the readiness of children for school."



A study by the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) published in November 2014 came to the same conclusion: The SREB states "have lost ground in college affordability."



Education costs explode



For most students and families in the South, the "cost of paying for college has outstripped family income and inflation," the study found. Costs for education have risen by 194 percent in the past 20 years, while the cost of living increased by 50 percent in the same period of time.



It's little wonder that students like Tyron Braden are pleased that Obama envisions lifting the burden. "The fact that he proposed two years tuition-free - that's great for college students, it makes it easier because we don't have to stress about money."



Chancellor Warner, however, was skeptical.



"The proposal is very broad right now, but the devil is in the details," he said, adding it's good to say students get two tuition-free years at school. "But the big question is: where do the funds come from?"