Grading Community Colleges, 5 Years Into Obama Improvement Efforts

Published April 21, 2014 at 12:40 PM EDT

U.S. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden speak to guests at the Community College of Allegheny County on April 16, 2014 in Oakdale, Pennsylvania. The President and Vice President are announcing new federal investments using existing funds to support job-driven training, like apprenticeships, that will expand partnerships with industry, businesses, unions, community colleges, and training organizations to train workers in the skills they need. (Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)

President Obama has been touting community colleges almost since he got into office. In 2009, at Macomb Community College in Michigan, he said, “Community colleges are an essential part of our recovery in the present — and our prosperity in the future. This place can make the future better, not just for these individuals but for America.”

Earlier this month, Obama went to Allegheny Community College in Pennsylvania to announce that $600 million in existing job training money would be redirected to programs that would set up apprenticeships with businesses and partner with businesses in a competitive grant program to teach real-world job skills in the classroom.

So with all the attention from the White House, how are community colleges doing? Peter Coy has been writing about this for Bloomberg Businessweek and joins Here & Now’s Robin Young with details.

Guest

Peter Coy, economics editor at Bloomberg Businessweek. He tweets @petercoy.