Two-year colleges excited over possible stimulus funding boost

By Laura Diamond

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

President Barack Obama’s proposal to spend $12 billion to improve the nation’s community colleges will allow Georgia’s two-year and technical colleges to expand programs and provide students with more support, local leaders said.

In a speech Tuesday, Obama said the money will stimulate the economy and prepare students for a workplace that is demanding more highly educated employees. The plan aims to increase community college graduates by 5 million by 2020.

Under the president’s plan, $9 billion in competitive grants would be available for colleges to try new programs, expand training and improve counseling. Another $2.5 billion would go toward campus construction. The remaining $500 million would be spent to develop online courses.

“This is exciting news,” said Virginia Michelich, vice president for academic and student affairs at Georgia Perimeter College. “To finally have the funding to develop the best programs to help students is just phenomenal.”

Georgia Perimeter, with about 23,500 students, is one of the 16 colleges in the University System of Georgia focusing on associate degrees.

Obama’s proposal fits with the system’s plan to boost awareness of two-year programs as a way to accommodate increased student enrollment, said John Millsaps, University System spokesman.

The Technical College System of Georgia has about 156,000 students attending 28 colleges.

“The plan is vague, but we’re going to go after the money,” said Mike Light, spokesman for the Technical College System.

The president’s plan stresses training in high-demand fields like health care and energy that Georgia’s technical colleges already emphasize, Light said. The system has been interested in expanding training and degrees for the green industry and would apply for money for that, he said.

Michelich said Georgia Perimeter hopes to expand remediation programs. The college also wants to develop an advising program because research shows students are more successful if they have a connection with faculty, she said.

The president’s proposal may change as it goes through Congress. Obama said the money would be paid out over 10 years and would come from no longer subsidizing banks and private lenders that provide student loans. A bill changing federal student loans is before Congress. Provided Congress approves the community college plan, money could come as soon as October.

While the money will help, it won’t cover all costs.

Colleges will need more faculty to teach the additional students, and the president’s plan doesn’t include money for that. Light and Michelich said salaries and other operational costs would be paid through tuition.

Also, the money set aside for facilities won’t stretch far. The country has about 1,100 community colleges, and if each received an equal portion of the facilities money, it would break down to about $2.2 million each. A new building costs between $8 million and $20 million.

The White House said the money will serve as a start for capital campaigns.

Michelich said Georgia Perimeter is at capacity and currently offers classes seven days a week to meet demand.

“No one expects this money to pay for everything,” Michelich said. “I’m just excited to see the funding put toward programs and learning. That’s where we need the focus to be.”