Perhaps a few more of you are paying attention to Barack Obama since his big win in South Carolina, so if you’re just getting into this conversation, I’m picking back up on my discussion of Obama’s higher education plans from last Friday.

I think his ideas for partnerships between the Federal government and community colleges are possibly his most feasible and savvy. He wants to encourage community colleges to create degree programs that reflect industry’s emerging needs. Grants will be provided to encourage community colleges to analyze business needs and to create the new programs.

Community colleges don’t get much glory, but they are key contributors to educating the populace. And I think he touches on another important part; making sure that education is aligned with business needs. This last point seems to get forgotten by some four-year liberal arts colleges, many of which really just prepare you for more school.

Obama is also a big supporter of Pell grants. He intends to increase the maximum award limit of Pell grants and ensure that Pell grants keep pace with inflation.

As a U.S. Senator, Obama has already supported a Senate proposal to set up a higher education price-comparison index. That way, schools can be monitored and questioned when their tuition costs exceed at faster rates than other schools. I’d be really interested to see this proposal turned into legislation so that higher education institutions can be more accountable for their costs.

My main critique of these plans is how they are going to be funded. I foresee a lot of the savings from subsidies to banks being chewed up in the broader bureaucracy that will have to be created to handle and process all the direct student loans. By itself and without the national health care plan, growing national debt, and the needs of the Baby Boom generation, the education plan has a shot. Unless someone can pipe up from the Obama camp to tell me where the funds are coming from (tax increases?), it’s tough to see this as any more than a pipe dream or another government program that we can’t afford. Perhaps, he’ll be able to implement pieces of the plan. I vote for the community college part.

But as far as Presidential candidates go, I definitely applaud Barack Obama’s higher education priorities.

This Friday: John McCain