Reasons Why College Should Be Free

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Mikaela Lafayette
Professor White
ENGL-1301-83646
8 July 2022
A Free Associate Degree: Undergraduate School Should Be Tuition-Free
In 2015 the Barack Obama administration presented the idea of The American College
Promise Program. This organization offered recent high school graduates a scholarship that pays
full tuition and fees to community colleges that participate in the college promise program
(Billings). It caught the eyes of many citizens, an opportunity to get a free associate degree,
better work, and start the path to decreasing student debt. However, some people argue that
students will take advantage of free college and not take it seriously or drop out. In reality, the
truth is that a free two-year degree is fair; it can give everyone an equal opportunity and an even
playing field and specifically impacts students with financial issues. Furthermore, a free two-year
degree can help graduates get a higher education and better job opportunities. Therefore, the
government should make two-year colleges tuition-free.
On the other hand, it is argued that tuition-free community colleges can impact students'
desire to work hard or pass their classes. They believe that students will not show up to class and
instead take advantage of the free schooling. According to Richard Vedder, an economist, and
Professor of Economic Emeritus at Ohio University, “The most recent National Student
Clearinghouse data show that 47% of community college enrollees drop out of school, far more
than the 27% who graduate (others are still in school). Other research shows that completion
rates fall the fewer students pay towards the cost, hinting that free tuition might raise already
scandalously high dropout rates.” He claims that since undergraduates are already dropping out
at high rates, more who are not paying are likely to leave as well. In other words, critics of free

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undergraduate schools believe that students will not take advantage of the higher education
opportunity that is free of cost and instead waste the taxpayer’s money.
It may be true that some people think students who pay for their schooling will be more
appreciative. But despite this idea, those who cannot afford college will take it as an opportunity.
Morley Winograd and Max Lubin explain in their article “Tuition-free college is critical to our
economy” that “In the first year of the TN Promise, community college enrollment in Tennessee
increased by 24.7%, causing 4,000 more students to enroll. The percentage of Black students in
that state’s community college population increased from 14% to 19% and the proportion of
Hispanic students increased from 4% to 5%. Students who attend community college tuition-free
also graduate at higher rates. Tennessee’s first Promise student cohort had a 52.6% success rate
compared to only a 38.9% success rate for their non-Promise peers. After two years of free
college tuition, Rhode Island’s college-promise program saw its community college graduation
rate triple and the graduation rate among students of color increase ninefold.” Meaning, that
schools noticed an increase in students attending college when it is free, rather than being paid
for which convinced other states to participate, showing graduate success rates rise. Furthermore,
Stephen Adair and Colena Sesanker both professors in Connecticut state, “In addition to making
community college tuition-free for all, it would make two- and four-year public colleges and
minority-serving institutions free for poor and middle-class students and increase funding for
programs that target students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Nationally, in 2016, the net
average price of college attendance (the total cost minus all grants awarded) for students coming
from the lowest family income quartile amounted to 94 percent of total family income.” It would
be similar to a full-ride scholarship, targeted at helping those who need and want it, especially

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those from low incomes. In reality, free community colleges can help students continue their
education.
However, naysayers also argue that free community college can negatively affect the
economy because of the high cost to taxpayers. Critics think that since college will not be funded
by students paying tuition, taxes will rise. Vedder writes free two-year colleges would be
“financed in New Jersey (a state that embraced free college) by raising taxes on affluent
residents, with the top rate on the income tax going to 10.75% from 8.97%, as well as increasing
the sales tax.” In other words, taxes would increase to fund free undergraduate schools and
critics believe that a tax increase is not worth it for the taxpayers.
It may be true that taxes will increase. But the truth of the matter is that the graduating
students will better the economy with more jobs and spending power. “The public portion of the
operating costs for state universities and colleges in Connecticut, where we teach, has declined
20 percent; since the 1980s, it has declined by nearly half. In the 1960s, tuition for a Connecticut
State University was $100 a year, which could be earned by working fewer than 100 hours at
minimum wage. Today, a student needs to work nearly 1,000 hours at the state minimum of $12
an hour to pay the $11,462 required for tuition at the least expensive state university in
Connecticut” (Adair and Sesanker). In other words, students can work full-time while being full-
time students but as tuition rises, it would be difficult. A student who is working over “Seven-
hundred and thirty hours,” the number of hours in a month, while receiving low income cannot
afford to pay for tuition without a loan or savings and could end up being both mentally and
physically exhausted. “Today, the fastest growing sectors of the economy are in health care,
computers, and information technology. To have a real shot at a job in those sectors, workers
need a college credential of some form such as an industry-recognized skills certificate or an