by Arlinda Arriaga
Community colleges, the fastest growing segment of U.S. higher education institutions, may see a boost in Hispanic enrollment as early as this fall because of President Obama’s American Graduation Initiative plan.
The Administration’s 512 billion proposal calls for funding spread over 10 years. It was announced July 14 during the president’s visit to Macomb Community College in Warren, Mich.
There are 1,177 community colleges in the United States. Their total enrollment is 6.7 million, or 46% of all college students, with non-whites entering at increasingly higher rates, according to the American Association of Community Colleges.
As of spring 2009, more than half of all African-American and two-thirds of Latino undergraduates attend these institutions. Of the Latinos, 39% are the first in their families to go to college.
The figure for Asian Americans is 45%; for Native Americans 52%.
At present, whites comprise 63% of community college enrollment, Hispanics 169%, blacks 13%, Asians 7% and Native Americans 1%.
The AACC also estimates that because of the economic downturn, enrollment nationally increased by about 10% in 2009 over 2008.
Of the Obama plan, $9 billion would go toward challenge grants to motivate colleges to be innovative in recruitment and address dropout rates, and $500 million for online education, with the remaining $2.5 billion serving as seed money to generate an additional $10 billion in renovation and construction on community colleges.
Some of the funds could be available by the 2010 budget year that begins Oct. 1, according to the White House.
Dr. Cecilia Cervantes, president of the National Community College Hispanic Council, an AACC affiliate, focuses on preparation and support of Hispanic leaders in education. She told Weekly Report she hopes this funding brings more Hispanic staff, faculty and administrators onto campuses.
“We’ve been trying for many years to open the door wide enough for students to come in. These funds will help our efforts to create that much needed opportunity for students,” Cervantes, who heads Hennepin Technical College in Hennepin, Minnesota, told Weekly Report. For more on the American Graduation Initiative Plan visit www.whitehouse.gov/blog/Investing-in-Education-The-American-Graduation-Initiative/.
In other news, Red Card is offering a new deal for immigration. To “bring order to U.S. borders” by separating citizenship and workers, the Red Card Solution was presented to several congressional staff members this summer at the Library of Congress by Helen Krieble, president of the Vernon K. Krieble Foundation.
Krieble explained that the “solution” is not immigration reformation, but a step toward it. The presentation included an advance screening of a mint-documentary explaining how the process would work.
The documentary described how undocumented agricultural workers often come to the United States to work for a season and then “because they’re afraid to go home, they stay through the off season and become permanent illegal residents.”
Behind the solution is the Krieble Plan, which she deemed “a reform plan that wins elections and is good for America.” The plan outlines how immigrants can receive and use their red cards.
After undergoing thorough background checks, applicants would be allowed to secure jobs in the United States Then they would be issued a “smart card” containing all of their personal information. The card could be swiped like a credit card to allow them to cross the U.S. border legally.
Their jobs would be seasonal. The smart card would allow them access to the United States for the amount of time contracted for the seasonal labor. They would be given the same health care and workman’s compensation as other U.S. workers.
“The Krieble Plan will help secure the border by providing an easy method that allows legal workers to go through a background check and enter the country legally,” Krieble emphasized, stressing how the workers would not be eligible U.S. citizenship.
Employers would be required to pay them at least the minimum wage, just as they do for other workers.
When asked how the job offers would be posted for immigrants to fi nd, Krieble said they would be computer-based, with hard copies of job postings available.
She also responded that they would fi nd out about work opportunities through word of mouth, just as they do today.
The cards, like green cards, would need to be renewed as they expire in order for immigrants to remain in this country.
The Red Card Solution is being presented to Congress as a way to help combat our current immigration crisis by “welcoming workers securely and legally,” Krieble said.
