In a knowledge economy, that’s important.” The administration’s advocacy for community colleges has been unprecedented. “No one in the history of our nation has … emphasized the value of community and our technical-college education like [President Obama] has,” American Association of Community Colleges President Walter Bumphus said. “We have been put in a spotlight never before shone on community colleges and I think folks have really started to see the value of [them].”
Workforce-development programs have also grown, as have opportunities in the broader scope of higher education, said Bumphus, who is also the former chair of the Department of Educational Administration in the College of Education at the University of Texas at Austin. And the president’s emphasis on college affordability is noteworthy, he said.
“I can’t ever recall a president who has not only focused on affordability but made funds available,” said Bumphus, who is particularly pleased with the president’s “focus …
