Document Tag: federal policy

Should community college be free? Education Next talks with Sara Goldrick-Rab and Andrew P. Kelly (2016)

President Obama’s proposal for tuition-free community college, issued earlier this year, seems to have laid down a marker for the Democratic Party. Vermont senator Bernie Sanders is touting his plan for free four-year public college on the primary trail; Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren called for “debt-free college” in a high-profile speech; and former senator and U.S. secretary of state Hillary Clinton has proposed her own plans for tuition-free community college and “no-loan” tuition at four-year public colleges. In this forum, Sara Goldrick-Rab, professor of educational policy studies and sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and co-author of a paper that helped shape the president’s plan, calls for an even more expansive effort-one that includes funding for students’ living and other expenses while they pursue an associate degree at any public institution. Andrew Kelly, director of the Center on Higher Education Reform at the American Enterprise Institute, argues that the Obama plan will not address low rates of college readiness and student success but will strain public budgets and crowd out innovation.

Public Testimony on Hunger in Higher Education, Submitted to the National Commission on Hunger (2015)

For the past several years, we have conducted research on hunger affecting college studentsacross the nation, and we thank you for the opportunity to share what we have learned. Our goalis to provide useful information about food insecurity among undergraduates and offer potential policy solutions to help alleviate this problem.We urge the National Commission on Hunger to align hunger policies with educational policies, in order to ensure that individuals from low-income and economically vulnerable backgrounds have a fair shot at mastering college-level material and securing college credentials.In particular, we recommend the following actions.

U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions – Testimony (2013)

Testimony of Dr. Sara Goldrick-Rab Associate Professor, University of Wisconsin Educational Policy Studies & Sociology Senior Scholar, Wisconsin Center for the Advancement of Education Director, Wisconsin Scholars Longitudinal Study Prepared for the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions United States Senate Hearing on “The Challenge of College Affordability: The Student Lens” April 16, 2013

Racial and Ethnic Differences in the Impact of Work-First Policies on College Access (2005)

The college participation rates of African Americans and Latinos continue to lag behind those of other
racial and ethnic groups in the United States, despite the efforts of financial aid and affirmative action
policies. Two recent federal policies that are “work-first” in nature threaten to further exacerbate
racial and ethnic disparities in college access. This article examines the complex ways in which
the 1996 welfare reform and the 1998 Workforce Investment Act differentially affect opportunitiesf or
college enrollment among disadvantaged adults. Utilizing national and state-level data, the authors
argue that both policies restrict access to postsecondary education through the implementation of
their guiding philosophy, “work-first,” which emphasizes rapid job placement as the strategy of
choice in achieving stable employment and moving out of poverty. These policies have reduced the
size of the clientele receiving welfare and restricted access to education and training for those who
remain on the rolls. Moreover, this reduction in access is particularly acute among African Americans
and Latinos. Thus, the findings indicate that these work-first federal policies serve to limit higher
education opportunities available to these already disadvantaged populations