Garcetti visits first wave of ‘Promise’ students to get year of free community college (Los Angeles: credit, student loan)

[jm1982]

Is it just me or does this remind you of that Oprah meme?



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On Thursday, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti spoke to about 150 Pierce College students who are among the first recipients of free college enrollment under the Los Angeles College Promise program. The program was created to increase the number of community college graduates, university transfer and workforce-ready students throughout the region.
It gives one year of free enrollment at a Los Angeles Community College District school, of which Pierce College is one, to all full-time students who graduate from Los Angeles Unified School District and charter high schools, starting with the seniors who graduated from high school this year.

Garcetti visits first wave of ‘Promise’ students to get year of free community college

[Xanathos]

I'm pretty libertarian, but I actually approve of sponsored community college programs. Most community colleges only run 60 or 70 bucks per credit hour and are a great service both for people coming from low-income backgrounds as well as those looking to bang out their pre-reqs for an affordable price before transferring to a 4-year university that will try to sock them with 6 figures of student loan debt. Not to mention, these community colleges for the most part teach kids how to be proficient in a lot of trade jobs that are underrepresented out there. Go listen to some Mike Rowe podcasts sometime. He talks a lot about how many good paying jobs go unfilled because there's nobody to take them, even though the barrier of entry isn't nearly as high as one of the high functioning fields out there like tech. I'd rather help sponsor some kid to learn welding or HVAC than those BS toilet paper degrees in useless disciplines a lot of kids are coming out with today. Getting people more involved in the skilled trades benefits all of us, and it's a damn sight better than these kids having the zenith of their career arc being at Church's Chicken demanding $15 an hour because that's all they can do.

[Exitus Acta Probat]

Free, eh? Oh, Eric means money from the general fund, such as what gets raked off from our DWP bills, will pay for it. Thanks for that, Mayor Soft Serve.

[jm1982]

Originally Posted by Xanathos

I'm pretty libertarian, but I actually approve of sponsored community college programs. Most community colleges only run 60 or 70 bucks per credit hour and are a great service both for people coming from low-income backgrounds as well as those looking to bang out their pre-reqs for an affordable price before transferring to a 4-year university that will try to sock them with 6 figures of student loan debt. Not to mention, these community colleges for the most part teach kids how to be proficient in a lot of trade jobs that are underrepresented out there. Go listen to some Mike Rowe podcasts sometime. He talks a lot about how many good paying jobs go unfilled because there's nobody to take them, even though the barrier of entry isn't nearly as high as one of the high functioning fields out there like tech. I'd rather help sponsor some kid to learn welding or HVAC than those BS toilet paper degrees in useless disciplines a lot of kids are coming out with today. Getting people more involved in the skilled trades benefits all of us, and it's a damn sight better than these kids having the zenith of their career arc being at Church's Chicken demanding $15 an hour because that's all they can do.

Good points and I agree community colleges serve a good purpose . I just feel that when something is "free" or no money down people often value it less .
Just like with investing in a home one should have some skin in the game .

Also I believe there are still "fee waiver" programs for students that can't afford the already relatively low community college course fees.

[CA4Now]

Okay, he just lost my vote.

[Mr_Geek]

It's Scott's Tots for real!

[socal88]

I would be more for providing some sort of financial assistance for trade programs or training courses that don't require a bachelor's degree to prepare individuals to go into high demand fields where there is a skills mismatch.

Regardless, hopefully there is an element of the program that requires high emphasis on developing math and English/writing skills.

If you don't have at least basic math skills and/or are unable to effectively communicate, you will not be workforce ready.

[jm1982]

Originally Posted by socal88

I would be more for providing some sort of financial assistance for trade programs or training courses that don't require a bachelor's degree to prepare individuals to go into high demand fields where there is a skills mismatch.

Regardless, hopefully there is an element of the program that requires high emphasis on developing math and English/writing skills.

If you don't have at least basic math skills and/or are unable to effectively communicate, you will not be workforce ready.

Yeah I'd rather see that too . Dropout rates are very high for community colleges .
There should be more training courses focused on in demand skills .
Lots of people start community college and then get overwhelmed , bouncing between courses/majors .

This article is pretty interesting
Why are graduation rates at community colleges so low? - The Hechinger Report

[Electrician4you]

Originally Posted by Xanathos

I'm pretty libertarian, but I actually approve of sponsored community college programs. Most community colleges only run 60 or 70 bucks per credit hour and are a great service both for people coming from low-income backgrounds as well as those looking to bang out their pre-reqs for an affordable price before transferring to a 4-year university that will try to sock them with 6 figures of student loan debt. Not to mention, these community colleges for the most part teach kids how to be proficient in a lot of trade jobs that are underrepresented out there. Go listen to some Mike Rowe podcasts sometime. He talks a lot about how many good paying jobs go unfilled because there's nobody to take them, even though the barrier of entry isn't nearly as high as one of the high functioning fields out there like tech. I'd rather help sponsor some kid to learn welding or HVAC than those BS toilet paper degrees in useless disciplines a lot of kids are coming out with today. Getting people more involved in the skilled trades benefits all of us, and it's a damn sight better than these kids having the zenith of their career arc being at Church's Chicken demanding $15 an hour because that's all they can do.

So feel free to whip out your checkbook. But this shouldn't be subsidized by taxpayers.

[Xanathos]

Originally Posted by Electrician4you

So feel free to whip out your checkbook. But this shouldn't be subsidized by taxpayers.

I assure you, I contribute more than most. That aside, having a workforce that is competent and well-educated in skilled trades is something that truly benefits all of us. Or look at it from a different perspective: One of the core requirements of meaningful immigration reform is to ensure that there is domestic labor available to fill the employment needs of skilled labor workers. Everybody always says to lock up the business owners who hire the illegal aliens, but nobody stops to consider that, even were the business owner completely on the up and up, there's a massive skills gap. The solution to the problem of the 80 guys hanging out at the Home Depot parking lot involves having a properly educated domestic workforce. Yes, other components that are less low hanging fruit, as well, but this is a necessary input.

By your (poor) logic, no schools at all should be subsidized by taxpayers, since what they produce are adults who have absolutely no job skills or ability to contribute meaningfully to society.

And let's not forget the big reason why having community college programs that teach skilled labor is so vital: rampant numbers of contractors and skilled tradesmen taking advantage of apprenticeship programs to basically create indentured servants who are not properly compensated for their work and are given questionable professional guidance and education.