Implementing equity-focused free college policies can help states shift the narrative from one where their disinvestment is blamed for contributing to the affordability crisis in higher education, to one where they are credited for taking the bold steps necessary to make college affordable
yes, and it will take time to see the benefits, but not only is it important to be more equitable in higher education, it is an investment in our future!
Only 22 percent of first-time, full-time students entering public two-year institutions in 2012 earned an associate degree within three years, while 32 percent of students entering open admissions four-year institutions in 2009 earned a bachelor’s degree within six years.
wow, startling statistic, but it makes sense because of how expensive it is, not just to go to college, but just existing in general!
Publicly release data on program participation, experiences, and outcomes, disaggregated by race and income
yes, the only way to expand and improve any program is to collect data and be transparent about it!
Most students who enter a community college intending to earn a bachelor’s degree do not succeed
it's true! time and expense
a myriad of reasons
Hey, Professor Rogers, is this an incorrect use of the word "myriad"?
In states without income caps or targeted aid, students of color participate in free college programs at rates lower than their White peers.
not surprising. kind of funny how theres a "welfare queen" stereotype when the reality is that most people who qualify for government benefits can't or don't get them, but middle and upper-income people take advantage of every tax break and loophole there is.
in Delaware, 82 percent of 2018 free college participants were middle- or upper income students, and 18 percent were low-income or Pell Grant eligible
again, what is the point of these programs? this might make it easier for middle and high income families to pay for their kids' college but I thought the point was to make college more accessible and equitable for all?
states should not place any requirements on free college program beneficiaries related to their residency
all the more reason to create an all-encompassing federal free college program, maybe similar to the pell grant. because free college is an investment in the future of our country as a whole
By 1990, the share of adult students grew to 44 percent
that's unexpected but a huge number, and shows that adult students need to be considered when designing these programs. adult and returning students can be more determined to succeed and financial burdens shouldn't be a barrier to education
California College Promise Grant fee waiver program (formerly known as the Board of Governors fee waiver) is available to low-income students regardless of prior college experience or enrollment intensity
I think this is what I received, sounds like one of the only programs accepting returning students
a genuine commitment to equity demands that states commit resources to tuition for middle-class students who can ultimately afford collegeonlyif they are simultaneously making college more affordable for low-income students, by including aid for non-tuition costs.
That's what these programs are really for, right? equity? If you're going to do it, do it right
tuition makes up only 20 percent of the cost of attendance for the average two-year public college student living off-campus.
This is surprising, note to self, look at reference to see what expenses this includes. housing? food?
Investing in the capacity of public colleges and universities can provide students with the instruction, advising, and wrap-around services needed to cultivate postsecondary success
because students need more than a grant, they need support for success
prioritize reinvesting in postsecondary education over other investments, such as corrections spending
Yes! The amount of money we have spent on the "war on drugs" and the resulting expenses of incarceration could pay for these programs 10x over.
education is an essential investment with both social benefits and significant economic returns.
So programs which meet all criteria, making higher education accessible to all, are in investment in our country's future
The purpose is not to challenge the momentum around free college, but to understand how programs can be designed to advance opportunity and success for the students most challenged by the affordability crisis.
in other words, how can we improve upon the already existing programs
greatly benefit both individuals and society
key takeaway - free college isn't just good for the students, it's an investment in our society's future
low-income students and students of color who are more likely to borrow and more likely to default on student loans than their affluent and White peers.
because many of these students don't have the same social safety net as their white peers, many of whom have families that went to college before them, own houses and have assets
a distressingly large number of students end up saddled with debt they can’t repay
which lowers their whole quality of life, with the rising costs of living and housing
the Pell Grant has not kept pace with the rising cost of college
As stated in the last article, the money awarded to students has not increased in 15 years
the GI Bill does not effectively protect veterans from predatory for-profit colleges that have poor outcomes and saddle students with debt.2
These schools are still a huge problem for so many people! its sick, people just want to improve their lives and they see a commercial from an unaccredited school and don't know any better!
Some of the variation is explained by what scholars described as the shuffling of Black veterans into vocational and technical college programs
I wonder why and how this could happen
Delaware's program, 82 percent of free college students were middle or upper income
wow! whats the point of that? who is this benefiting besides the families of those students? surely not the students who really need it.
The state has failed to increase the maximum TAP award for about 15 years
15 years is a long time, I wonder how much tuition and the cost of living has gone up in the last 15 years?
they ignore the totality of New York’s robust financial aid programs and instead attempt to analyze one program,
isn't that one problem the fact that the students who need help the most are still stuggling?
He said measuring the success of the state program
how exactly are they defining success?
where they really face a notable financial hurdle is in living expenses.”
so they have to work, which means their grades may suffer, which means they might become ineligible for the grants
while the high-income student got an additional $1,500 in state support.
which is good, college is still expensive even for those families who can afford it
The IHEP report examines the Tennessee and New York programs from the perspective of three types of students.
interesting set of perspectives
they often don’t cover the needs of the poorest students,
The designers of these programs have good intentions, but they are trying to make everyone happy. keeping the cost of the program down for the government while they can still say they are providing "free college"
But until and unless there’s a blue wave, it’s all hypothetical
Not anymore!
she believes that low-income students should be top of mind when states and local governments are crafting tuition-free models, as opposed to an afterthought.
Isn't that the whole point of these programs? To allow low-income students the opportunity to get an education?
Benjamin Harrison signed a second Morrill Act into law in 1890, creating land-grant colleges that specifically served black students.
I did not know about the Morrill Act, I wonder when women were officially allowed into colleges?
wealthier students, as well, who are increasingly struggling to keep up with the cost of college,
Yes, the cost of living, and everything else, is rising faster than even well-off families can keep up with.
some qualified students who were eligible for free tuition were denied it.
All the more reason that a federally-backed program would be better, more consistency.
or they may mandate a drug test.
Wow! reminds me of drug testing for welfare, food stamp, and housing benefits.
requiring students to live and work in the state for several years after the program is complete
Although it may seem unfair, this actually makes sense to me. The state doesn't want to invest in students just to have them pick up and take their degree to New York or California as soon as they graduate.
the state began extending the tuition-free college offer to adult and returning students
I should have moved to Tennessee! I had no idea that the state of Tennessee did this. I would love to know the statistics on how many students are now graduating college there versus how many did before, and what have been the benefits and drawbacks of this program for the state.
the amount of money a student receives is based on things like their grade point average and SAT score,
There are obviously problems with this. Some students are better test-takers, some are in bad schools with bad teachers who don't care, how could a merit based aid program ever be fair?
“last dollar in” plans often mean they have to use their grant money for tuition, and can’t count on it for other costs associated with college
Which means those students will probably have to work while they go to school, creating even more of a burden for the student. Living expenses while in college add up quickly.
, announcing a proposal to eliminate tuition at public colleges for families making less than $125,000 annually.
I could see potential problems with this. Of course no policy is ever perfect, but when you draw a line like that, you run into issues. what about families making 130,000 annually but they have 4 college age kids? What about students who don't have the support of their parents?
the plans the administration laid out in its higher-education platform had no chance of becoming law, he told me—primarily because Congress was not as supportive of the idea as the president was—they still received a flood of attention.
Sometimes, this is the best way to change policy. Incrementally. Even if there's no way congress will support an idea presently, if you keep pushing and it keeps receiving attention and gaining support, eventually lawmakers will change their minds or lose support of their constituents.
Many two-year free-college proposals would apply only to two-year associate’s degrees,
Which would still be extremely helpful to low income students who have no other options but who want to go to school.
researchers were busily studying the effectiveness of such programs.
How do researchers measure or define "effectiveness"? How many more students attend? Growth of the ecomomy in the area? What is the goal?
Some are funded by the government,
I would like to know how states choose the areas in which to do this
The offer brought change not just to Kalamazoo schools, but to the whole city.
I wonder if this positive change for the city of Kalamazoo would be applicable if all school districts got free college for their students
in 2016, of the nearly 3.3 million students who were eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), less than half applied.
This is true of all low income people, not just college students. The bureaucratic hoops they make people jump though, and the discrimination people face along the way, makes most people give up before they receive assistance.
Before all else, colleges must meet students’ basic needs —
Yes, like maslow's hierarchy of needs, food and shelter comes first, without those, you're in survival mode
I was one of the nearly 40 percent of undergraduates who struggle with food insecurity.
It's unbelievable that a statistic like this could be available but still not addressed
Schools cannot simply showcase smiling black and brown faces in their glossy brochures and students wearing shirts blaring “First Gen and Proud” in curated videos and then abdicate responsibility for the problems from home that a more diverse class may bring with them to campus.
Yes! schools need to consider that low income and students of color will need more support than just scholarship money
And at a time when affirmative action is under renewed attack, the index permits an alternative to explicit considerations of race in college admissions by taking into account the ecological factors that are intimately tied to race.
To be honest, I think this sounds like a better way to do it. Considering the economic and other environmental conditions that an applicant grew up in will naturally net more students of color, without opening up the process to criticisms typically applied to affirmative action
announcing that someone needed something: $75 for diabetes medicine or $100 to turn the lights back on. One day a call announced that a $675 mortgage payment needed to be paid.
Mortgage payments and electric bills are not something that children or college students should have to be concerned with
Life in distressed communities can mean learning to distinguish between firecrackers and gunshots.
Which means that even for the most gifted, dedicated students, much of their energy is being directed towards everyday survival, instead of being able to focus on school and play and the normal activities of childhood.
we are pushed — by teachers, counselors and anyone who gives advice — to tug the heartstrings of upper-middle-class white admissions officers.
The classic and much-loved narrative of the poor, urban child of color, overcoming obstacles to pull himself up by his bootstraps and succeed at the American Dream. I think the reason this feel-good narrative is so popular is because it allows white, middle class Americans to think, "See? Racism is no longer an issue. if you work hard enough you can do anything"
anger welled up inside me, but I couldn’t let it show. That would have just played into her preconceived notion
As a middle schooler, I would not have had a thought as mature and dignified.
She strode over and said to me, “You don’t have the potential to be a Carverite.”
Ouch. I have never experienced such outright judgement. That would be absolutely demoralizing, especially for a middle school aged child, and especially if it's something that happens with regularity.
Just walking through the campus gates unavoidably heightens these students’ awareness and experience of the deep inequalities around them.
Very true, the "old money" air is apparent as soon as you step on to many ivy league schools. how could we begin to change the money infused atmosphere of elite and historic colleges? They often rely on big name families of alumni and donors for their programs and clubs. In fact they pride themselves on it. It's no wonder that scholarship, low income, and students of color often feel immediately unwelcome
We like to think that landing a coveted college spot is a golden ticket for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. We think less critically about what happens next.
This is so true. I watched a documentary(I don't remember now what it was called) about a group of low income students from a disadvantaged school who got free college from Ellen DeGeneres. Two years later, after following up with the students, most had dropped out for various reasons. Students who didn't grow up in "college families" need extra support to learn how to be successful and fit in at college
so many of them returned rested — how different our holidays had been.
Another stark reminder of the disparities between students
in the late ’90s, McDonald’s ran a special: 29-cent hamburgers
Companies like McDonalds and other fast food chains are often the only source of affordable food in poor, urban areas. Food desserts