Dive Brief:
- President Barack Obama’s new "College Promise" campaign will tout the administration’s free community college proposal as well as the range of others that have been proposed or enacted in recent months.
- Inside Higher Ed reports that an advisory board made up of community college, foundation, union, and political leaders will be tasked with raising awareness of the range of proposals and strategizing ways to pay for them.
- According to The Chronicle of Higher Education, the campaign will also galvanize support among students through grassroots organizing coordinated by Heads Up America.
Dive Insight:
Second Lady Jill Biden will co-chair the administration’s campaign, along with former Republican governor of Wyoming Jim Geringer, and former undersecretary of education Martha J. Kanter will direct it. While it may be unlikely that Obama will get his free community college proposal through Congress before leaving office, the campaign will support states and cities considering proposals like those in Oregon, Tennessee, or Chicago. Across the country, there is a push to effectively expand free public education from K-12 through community college, particularly as career and technical education becomes more popular.
