Diablo Valley College students reacted positively to president Obama’s free community college proposal, but some faculty members are more skeptical.

“I think it’s a great idea,” studio art major Sara Pardo said. “Keeping costs low is essential.”  

It’s easy to see why the idea might appeal to students.

The proposal in question would make the first two years of tuition free for students who maintain a minimum 2.5 GPA while attending school at least half-time, according to the White House fact sheet.

Who would pay for this? The federal government would take on three-quarters of the cost, but would require participating states to cover the remaining cost. This would only apply to college programs that would be fully transferable to four-year schools, or those that would serve as occupational training. 

Chris Harper works in DVC’s financial aid office. He saw the proposal as an opportunity for the country to invest in its future. “This plan is good for the economy because it will increase enrollment, increase the amount of graduates and transfers from the community college system and in return is a great investment towards our national economy,” he said.

DVC professor Mickey Huff agreed saying, “The initial idea, that community college would once again be free, is stupendous.” However, he had strong reservations about the consequences of such a policy. “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”

Huff cited concerns that federal funding would lead to the unforeseen consequences of increased oversight. He worried that this could be a way to exert more control over teacher unions or to defund controversial classes.

English professor Adam Bessie shared similar concerns. In an opinion piece for Truthout, he wrote, “I worry that ‘free’ community college may be a Trojan horse for implementing a Race To The Top for higher education, which has been a disastrous policy for K-12 education.”

He concluded that with the federal government taking on some of the financial responsibility, they’ll also demand a result in the form of standardized test scores with curriculum suited to their interest.

Other faculty members had similar concerns.

“My initial reaction was ‘Yeah right, where are you gonna get the money?'” history professor Matthew Powell said. He pointed out that a democratic president with less than two years in office and a republican congress is in a dubious position to launch such powerful legislation.

He also stated that this is a bigger issue than simply the federal government and would require the cooperation of state and local governments if it were to be effective. Powell also wondered “what’s next?” for students who take advantage of this potential policy. If the goal is to increase enrollment and transfer rates, he asks, where will such students go if state schools are already impacted? “It’s not that I’m dubious; it’s that it’s a much larger conversation than just community college,” Powell said.

Sriram Ramakrishnan contributed to this article.