I’m not going down the road of who knew what and when. The State Legislature is full of ignorant whiners that are more worried about harmless crops, abortion and guns. Education is NOT even on their radar. Let’s forget about them for a moment.
I think it is a fantastic idea to have a Sioux Falls Community College. I am a SE Tech Alumni and I enjoyed my two years at the school (though I wished I had the money to further my education – we will get to that in a moment.)
Technical education works for people. I have often argued unless you want to be a doctor or a lawyer, what’s point of college? Don’t get wrong, there are many other careers that need a college degree, but for the most part, tech education works.
It’s cheaper, it’s faster and you can get good paying jobs (if you leave the state).
The debate that is going on behind the scenes is how we keep it affordable and tuition low?
I already know what the right wingers have up their sleeves, they want to hire non-union teachers and they want to have in-state work requirements for scholarships. While this may help with the balance sheets, it is short-sighted.
How can we keep tuition low (or at least debt low)?
My idea is too have extensive work study programs and volunteer tuition forgiveness.
How does it work? A volunteer program would have to be set up. And if you volunteer for certain non-profits, the city or even private business thru internships you would get a break on your tuition. It could be a massive program that is funded by the state, the city and businesses and non-profits. They would pay into the tuition fund (this would allow us to have a high level of teachers and learning). This would make the college more affordable, it would help out the community and would be flexible for the students. They wouldn’t have to be stuck working in our state if they didn’t want to and we would be winning on both fronts; A properly funded higher education institution and affordable learning.
Oh, and NO guns on campus.