President Obama on Tuesday outlined an election-year higher education plan that includes a major expansion of college work-study programs, more help for student loan borrowers and a stronger role of community colleges in workforce training.

In his State of the Union Address, the president called for a doubling of slots in the work-study program, through which low-income students earn funds, largely through campus jobs, to help pay for college. The move caught at least one budget expert by surprise.

“It’s a program that hasn’t had an increase in a long time,” said Jason Delisle, director of the Federal Education Budget Project at the New America Foundation. “Many student recipients may not even recognize it as a federal program.”

Delisle told Diverse that the White House decision to expand the program may be linked to the themes of jobs and work, which the president emphasized heavily in his address. The federal government allocates $978 million a year to work-study activities.

The president said his community college plan would help 2 million Americans receive education and training for emerging jobs. In his speech, he cited the work of Central Piedmont Community College in North Carolina, which worked with Siemens Corp. to design technical training programs closely linked to new jobs at a regional gas turbine factory.

“You need to give more community colleges the resources they need to become community career centers,” Obama said, where they could support information technology and emerging manufacturing industries.

The president did not attach dollar figures to the community college proposal, though the administration two years ago helped secure $2 billion for similar initiatives. At a discussion forum after the speech, Education Secretary Arne Duncan said two-year colleges are a logical destination for these business/education partnerships.

The two sectors “should be partners,” he said, noting that some community colleges are open “24 hours a day” to meet the education needs of returning students seeking job-ready skills. “Everyone is stretched for resources,” he said, and these colleges provide cost effective training.