It's a question that
might be more relevant today than ever before: Should college be free in
America? Many people have very passionate opinions on the matter. Maybe you're
one of them. But this question deserves a lot more than a simple yes or no
answer. It deserves an open mind and a balanced exploration of the potential
benefits, drawbacks, and alternatives.
After all, America's
future is at stake. And nearly everyone agrees that education is one of the
biggest factors that will determine the nation's fate going forward. So we have
to get it right. Although some people might feel that the current system of
higher education and vocational training is working well, many other people
believe that it needs at least a little bit of improvement in one way or
another.
College affordability
is often among the top concerns. When the cost of attending college,
university, or trade school is too high, a lot of students simply choose not to
pursue a higher education. And that leaves many of them ill-equipped to find
good employment, let alone attain the American dream. But high costs also leave
some college graduates with levels of debt that hamper their abilities to
attain at least a middle-class lifestyle.
So, Is that even possible? Keep reading, and
decide for yourself.
A few basic facts
- Why should college be free for everyone?
- How might the government pay for free public college?
- Does free college work well in other countries?
- Could free public college work well in America?
- Why college should not be free for everybody
- Are there better alternatives?
First, a Few Basic
Facts
The concept of
publicly funded education goes all the way back to America's Founding Fathers.
In 1785, John Adams wrote: "The whole people must take upon themselves the
education of the whole people and must be willing to bear the expense of
it."
And, believe it or
not, there actually was a time in the nation's history when people could attend
public colleges for free. The Morrill Act of 1862 enabled land-grant colleges
to be created by states on federal lands so that higher education could become
available to Americans in every social class. The aim was "to promote the
liberal and practical education of the industrial classes in the several
pursuits and professions in life."
In the early days,
students could often attend public land-grant colleges without paying any
tuition. That was possible because only a relatively small percentage of
Americans actually attended college. But as enrollment grew over the years, so
did the funding requirements in each state. And that led to public colleges
eventually charging tuition and raising their fees as enrollment grew and state
funding slowed.
Today, the cost of
attending many public colleges is so high that a lot of students simply can't
afford to go. As a result, far fewer students from lower-income families attend
college than those from upper-income families. That is in spite of the fact
that the federal government continues to supply financial aid to eligible
students, including Pell Grants (which don't have to be repaid).
Here are some other
important facts to keep in mind as you explore the question of whether or not
college should be free:
In 2017, the total
amount of student loan debt in America was estimated to be almost $1.5 trillion
(over 30 percent higher than it was just four years earlier).1 And student
loans are, by far, the most dominant type of financial aid. During the
2012-2013 school year alone, about 10 million college students took out student
loans (a 66-percent increase from a decade earlier).
More than $80 billion
is spent each year by the federal government on post-secondary financial aid.
In the 2012-2013 school year, that represented over 70 percent of all student
financial assistance in the higher education sector.2
In 2013, a federal
Pell Grant covered only about 30 percent of the average cost of going to a
public four-year college or university. Compare that to 1973 when a Pell Grant
covered over 75 percent of the cost. So, what about two-year colleges? Is
community college free if you get a Pell Grant? Well, it used to be. But a Pell
Grant only covered about 60 percent of the cost of attending community college
in 2013.
Over 20 million
students were enrolled in American post-secondary schools in the fall of 2015,
which was almost five million more than in 2000. Roughly seven million of those
students attended two-year colleges.3
According to
estimates from 2016, young adults in America earn 57 percent more if they have
a bachelor's degree than if they only complete high school.3
Since the mid-1900s,
America's top one percent of income earners have increased their portion of the
country's income by more than double.4
If you don't account
for grants and scholarships, then, in total, about $240 billion is spent on
college tuition each year by post-secondary students (based on calculations
using data for the 2015-2016 academic period). That number is for all types of
post-secondary institutions. Tuition at public colleges and universities
accounts for about $97 billion of that total.3
A few tuition-free
colleges already exist in the U.S. (A tuition-free college is a post-secondary
institution that doesn't charge tuition to its students but still may charge
other fees, including room and board.) For example, Alice Lloyd College, Berea
College, College of the Ozarks, Deep Springs College, Warren Wilson College,
and Webb Institute offer free tuition. However, you may have to meet certain
conditions, such as being a resident of a particular region, working on campus,
attending full-time, or coming from a low-income family.9
Free college is
something you can take advantage of by attending the United States Military
Academy, Air Force Academy, Naval Academy, Merchant Marine Academy, or Coast
Guard Academy. Just keep in mind that each of the military academies is highly
selective, so admission is very competitive. You also have to agree to serve as
an officer in the service you've chosen for several years after graduation.
Why Should College Be
Free for Everyone?
Proponents of free
college believe that it would benefit the entire nation, not just the
individual students who take advantage of it. They see it as both a private and
public benefit. After all, more and more of today's jobs are knowledge-based or
require advanced technical skills. So a better-educated workforce would help
fill many of the skills gaps that prevent America's economy from growing
faster.
Plus, since more
people would be able to attain employer-desired credentials, more people would
be able to take the good-paying jobs that often go unfilled. And that could
result in billions of additional dollars circulating throughout the economy
since people tend to spend more money when they have higher incomes and little
or no debt. It could also mean that the government would take in a lot of extra
tax revenues, which could go a long way toward paying for free public colleges.
But the issue of why
college should be free isn't just an economic one. It's also a moral and
philosophical one. Do we want every American, regardless of social standing, to
have an equal opportunity to reach his or her potential? That's what this
country is supposed to be about, yet social mobility has been eroding for the
poor and middle class. And without easy and affordable access to quality higher
education for everyone, the collective intelligence and goodwill of the nation
could also erode. America might become even more socially divided.
Ultimately, many
people believe that a college-level education should be an absolute right, so
long as you have the ability to benefit from it. Put another way, perhaps free
education is a concept that shouldn't be arbitrarily limited to K-12 students.
Here are some of the other commonly cited reasons why college should be free:
Why Should College Be
Free for Everyone?
There might be a lot
fewer Americans who need to seek other forms of public assistance.
People would have
more freedom to contribute their talents, try new ideas, and pursue the lives
they want if they didn't have to start off in debt or stay stuck in a low-wage
job. That could lead to happier people. And happier people could lead to a
happier, more prosperous nation as a whole.
A better-educated
population could result in smarter decision-making at every level of society,
which could lead to faster progress in solving our most difficult, collective
challenges.
Students would be
able to focus more on their studies rather than worrying about how to scrape
together enough funds for each upcoming school term. As a result, more of them
might graduate on time, ready to take on important jobs in their communities.
Many of America's
top-performing high school students never apply to the most challenging colleges
and universities even though they have the ability to succeed at them. They
often come from minority and low-income households and end up pursuing more
affordable, less-selective schools instead. And that helps create a widening
gap between wealthier families and those that are less affluent.
Although it benefits
many students, the nation's existing financial aid system currently fails to
provide an equal opportunity to every qualified American.
Graduating with high
amounts of student loan debt has been shown to reduce a person's chances of
owning a home, getting married, having children, and accumulating wealth.
How Might the
Government Pay for Free Public College?
Technically, free
college isn't really free. Someone does have to pay for it. In the case of
public college, that means taxpayers. But some economists believe that every
American who wants to could go to college for free if the federal and state
governments made a few reasonable changes. They don't see the concept as a
fantasy. They see it as a very realistic option. Some of the ideas that they've
put forward include:
- Closing corporate tax loopholes that allow companies to legally avoid paying their full share of taxes
- Increasing the tax rates for America's wealthiest millionaires and billionaires
- Implementing new taxes on speculative Wall Street transactions
- Diverting most of the public money currently spent on student financial aid toward making all public colleges and universities tuition-free instead
- Decreasing the military budget
- Cracking down on wasteful government spending
If you only count the
money doled out in federal grants, it costs about $2.8 billion each year to
make college tuition-free (or close to free) for over 590,000 low-income
students at public colleges and universities in the U.S. (based on data for the
2015-2016 school year).3 However, grants alone are often not enough to cover
all of a student's fees and expenses. So the federal government also offers
work-study programs as well as subsidized and unsubsidized student loans, which
can sometimes be difficult to repay.
Bernie Sanders, the
U.S. senator from Vermont and a former presidential candidate, has proposed
legislation called the College for All Act. Under the proposed plan, it would
cost $600 billion (spread over 10 years) to make college free in the U.S. for
all Americans attending community colleges and for those attending public
four-year colleges or universities who come from households with annual incomes
of $125,000 or less. But the legislation would only cover tuition and fees, not
books, room and board, or other expenses. If his bill ever gets enacted,
Sanders will pay for free college by passing a separate bill that taxes
speculative Wall Street sales transactions.10
During the 2015-2016
academic year, the average cost of attending an undergraduate post-secondary
institution in the U.S. was $22,432. That number includes tuition, fees, and
room and board. More than 20 million students were enrolled at all types of
post-secondary schools (both public and private).3 So it would cost at least
$453.7 billion each year to pay for free college for all undergraduate
students, regardless of the institutions they attended.
But nobody is really proposing
to make college free for everyone. Those who come from high-income families or
choose to attend private colleges or universities are generally left out of
this discussion. Most proposals only focus on covering tuition for students at
public schools of higher education. And getting free college tuition means that
you don't have to pay for your courses, but you do have to pay for your other
educational and living expenses.
Does Free College
Work Well in Other Countries?
The answer appears to
be yes. But that might depend on whom you ask. So where is college free in
other parts of the world?
As of the 2015-2016
school year, at least nine countries offer tuition-free public higher education
(at the bachelor's and master's degree levels). For example, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, Norway, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Sweden, Turkey, and Poland have
free college education.5 So free college, in Europe especially, has proven to
be a popular idea.
One reason why is
that countries with free college education tend to have lower levels of student
debt among their graduates. For example, in Finland, the average college
student loan amounts to $1,200, which is used mostly for living expenses while
in school. In Norway, the average student loan is worth $9,381. But that is
still less than the U.S. average, which is $15,510.6
Plus, another
compelling fact about free colleges in Europe is that those nations don't
generally spend that much more on higher education than the U.S. does. For
instance, as a share of national GDP, the U.S. spends about 1.36 percent on
post-secondary education. But Finland, Norway, and Germany only spend 2.08
percent, 1.96 percent, and 1.35 percent of their nations' GDP, respectively.6
But here's something
you may not know: Public college education is not free in the UK, although it
used to be. As of 1998, public university is not free in England, Wales,
Scotland, or Northern Ireland. That's because providing free public university
was actually shown to reduce the quality of higher education and lessen access
to educational opportunities for lower income students due to necessary caps on
enrollment. So, in many ways, it did the opposite of what was intended.11 Free
higher education is not a concept that works everywhere.
Instead, the UK now
has a system in which public universities charge tuition, but students don't
have to pay anything up front. Payment is deferred until after graduation, and
every graduate is automatically enrolled in an income-based repayment program.
So graduates only have to pay an affordable percentage of their incomes once
they start earning above a certain threshold.
Closer to home, some
people have asked, "Is college free in Canada?" The answer is no.
However, college and university students in Canada do tend to pay less for
their education than students in the U.S. since public post-secondary schools
are heavily subsidized by the provincial, territorial, and federal governments.
So the tuition is often lower. But many Canadian students still take out loans.
In fact, the average student loan in Canada is worth $4,421, which is still far
below the American average.6
Could Free Public
College Work Well in America?
That's obviously up
for debate. But many of the nation's leaders believe that it could. Free
college—more specifically, free community college—is something that many
progressive politicians have proposed. Yet, so far at least, the idea has not
gained enough traction at the federal level. However, several states have
already implemented free community college programs or similar ideas.
For example,
Arkansas, California, Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana,
Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Tennessee offer
free college tuition to at least some students who attend public post-secondary
institutions. (In some of these states, there are restrictions on who is
eligible and/or specific requirements or conditions that have to be met by
prospective students.)7 New York was the first state to make public college and
university tuition-free for residents who come from families that earn $125,000
or less per year. Several other states are considering similar kinds of
legislation. So free public college might not be such a radical idea.
Plus, other programs
around the country are demonstrating that providing people with free college
can be very beneficial. For example, consider the Kalamazoo Promise in
Michigan, which has been in effect since 2006. Essentially, all students who
have been continuously enrolled in the Kalamazoo Public Schools (KPS) district
since kindergarten—and successfully graduate from high school—are eligible to
have 100 percent of their tuition and fees covered (at the undergraduate level)
at any public college or university in Michigan that accepts them.
The Kalamazoo Promise
also covers high school graduates who have been continuously enrolled in the
KPS district for shorter amounts of time. In those cases, students can have 65
percent or more of their tuition and fees covered, depending on how long
they've been enrolled. And students are given up to 10 years to use the
scholarship after graduating from high school.
The impact has been
positive. From 2006 to 2013, the percentage of KPS graduates who earned a
college-level credential within six years of completing high school rose from
roughly 36 percent to about 48 percent. And the impact has been the greatest on
the district's low-income students who have increased their probability of
attending and completing a four-year college education by over 50 percent.8
Why College Should
Not Be Free for Everybody
Opponents of free
college tend to believe that such an idea would simply be too expensive for the
federal and state governments to maintain long-term. As a result, Americans may
have to start paying much higher taxes. And that, they say, could hurt the
economy since people might have less to spend or invest.
In addition,
countries like the U.S., Canada, South Korea, and Japan have already proven
that free higher education isn't necessary for building some of the world's
most educated workforces. And free public college, by itself, would likely not
be enough to promote the big improvements in social mobility that are needed
throughout America. That's especially true when you consider the
responsibilities of adult and non-traditional learners who often have
challenges that aren't just strictly financial in nature.
Many opponents of
free college are especially against the idea of making community colleges
tuition-free. They point to national statistics indicating that public
community colleges are often dead ends for students. For example, only about 20
percent of first-time, full-time students at public two-year colleges earn
associate's degrees, diplomas, or certificates within three years of starting.
And only 15 percent of them go on to earn bachelor's degrees within six years.
(In contrast, 54 percent of students at private, non-profit two-year
schools—and 63 percent of students at private, for-profit two-year
schools—graduate within three years.)3
So making community
colleges free could have some negative consequences for non-traditional
students who often benefit from attending private colleges or vocational
schools. If the U.S. government diverts more funding toward making community
colleges tuition-free, then students attending private schools could
potentially lose access to federal financial aid since that might be one of the
trade-offs. They would then need to decide whether to attend free public
schools that may be a lot more crowded or provide less effective (and less
convenient) training.
Here are a few other
reasons why some people oppose free college for everyone:
With more people
choosing to attend public colleges because of their tuition-free status, many
schools might have to create wait lists or expand the ones they already have.
State budgets could become strained, which might lead to cuts and decreased
access to the programs that students want to take.
Public colleges and
universities might become less worried about wasteful spending since they won't
have to compete with other schools on cost. And that could strain public
budgets even further.
Many students would
still have to borrow money for their living expenses as well as for books and
supplies. So they wouldn't get to leave school completely debt-free.
Students might take
their college education less seriously if they don't have to pay for it. So
graduation numbers might drop, or the people who do graduate might not be as
well prepared for the workforce.
Students may not
learn to become as financially literate or independent as they should be,
choosing instead to stay dependent on government programs whenever possible.
If a lot more people
are able to earn college degrees, then the value of those degrees could
decrease. And that could lead to a rising number of workers who are
underemployed based on their qualifications.
Are There Better
Alternatives?
Maybe some kind of
middle ground exists. Maybe making public colleges free for everyone isn't the
best way to solve the affordability problem. At least, that's what some people
believe. They point out that other options have been shown to work well and
that those options might be a lot less expensive for American taxpayers.
For example, consider
the possibility of an income-based repayment system. For some former college
students in the U.S., that is already a reality. They are able to have the
repayment of their student loans tied to a small percentage of their incomes.
And if they earn below a certain threshold, then they don't have to make any
payments. After 20 to 25 years, whatever is left on their loans is written off,
as long as they have consistently kept up with all of the payments that were
due. The problem, currently, is that this option is only available to
low-income people who can prove that they are experiencing financial hardship.
But what if loans
with income-based repayment were available to every student? You would be able
to attend college, university, or trade school without having to pay for
tuition while enrolled. Then, after you left school, you would only have to pay
an affordable percentage of what you earned (or, if you didn't earn much, pay
nothing at all until your income rose). The more money you earned, the quicker
you would pay off the loan. And if your income stayed low, you would have the
peace of mind of knowing that your loan obligations would eventually expire.
That's exactly the
type of system that Australia uses through its Higher Education Loan Program
(HELP). Plus, no interest is applied to the program's student loans. And for
those earning incomes above a reasonable threshold, the repayment percentage
ranges from only four to eight percent, which is very affordable. On average,
it takes just over eight years for an Australian graduate to repay a HELP loan.
Of course, many loans will never be fully repaid (roughly 17 percent of them).
But the system has been designed to allow for that.6
With a system like
HELP, college graduates have the freedom to take on lower-paying jobs while
they get established. And it provides an incentive for aspiring artists,
writers, musicians, philosophers, and other visionaries to pursue an education
and develop their talents without worrying about the costs. After all, the
world needs such people. Our future would be bleak without them.
So an income-based
repayment system represents a compromise. Certainly, taxpayers would still have
to help fund it since not all loans would be repaid. But the tax requirements
would likely be much lower compared to what a tuition-free system would
require. And such a system would also put some of the onus back on students. It
would remove important obstacles to higher education without removing
accountability or a sense of ownership.
Other ideas and
alternatives to free public college that have been put forward by various
people include:
- Greatly expanding the existing Pell Grant program while cutting back on student loans
- Investing in a better system of youth-development and community-development programs
- Discouraging the distribution of merit-based financial aid to wealthy students and using that money to provide more opportunities for poor and middle-class students instead
- Developing a larger and more robust apprenticeship system for the skilled trades and many other vocational areas
- Establishing better incentives for employers to provide more extensive on-the-job training rather than depending on the higher education system to supply fully qualified workers
- Providing more incentives to colleges, universities, and trade schools to lower their costs and keep them low
- Establishing a more extensive system of national service that enables young adults or career-changing adults to learn new skills, become part of something bigger than themselves, and network with other people while helping to solve some of the biggest challenges in the nation's communities—all in exchange for discounted or tuition-free college
- Investing in better pre-college education that teaches students, in greater detail, about all of the realistic options that are available to them
- Investing in better financial education for everyone so that all students become financially literate and know how to make money work for them before attending college or getting their first jobs
- Providing more public support, including research and development funding, to innovators who are creating online, low-cost, and customized alternatives to traditional institutions of higher education
- What's the Best Way Forward for Students Right Now?
Like other students,
you might have a lot of options available to you. But the longer you wait to
begin your post-secondary education, the more opportunities you may be missing
out on. So even though "" is a question worth debating, the best
action to take right now is probably to investigate the many helpful
possibilities that already exist.
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