The high cost of a university education is a major concern in the United States of America. Recently, President Obama announced a proposal to give two years of community college education to every student "for free." It is estimated that this program might cost $80 billion.

The United States has a wide variety of higher education programs – much like many other countries. We have private institutions and state-funded public institutions, four-year universities (offering bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees), and two-year colleges (typically offering associate degrees). When I was growing up, most states funded public universities very well. Certain universities, such as the University of California (UC) system that included UC Berkeley, were free of charge to in-state students, with a hefty tuition for out-of-state students. This was because out-of-state students presumably did not have parents paying taxes to the state that funded the university. All of this was understandable.

Community colleges helped students save money by not having to live away from home. Many students who went to community college would take general math, English, science, and business classes and then transfer their course credits to a four-year university to get a bachelor's degree. The community college could save students a lot of money.

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