Making Public Colleges Tuition Free - Lumina Foundation

Making

Public Colleges Tuition Free

A BRIEFING BOOK FOR STATE LEADERS

Table of Contents

Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 2

Chapter I. States Taking the Lead in Making Colleges Tuition Free: Current State Programs ........... 4 Chapter II. The New Economic Reality ................................................................................................ 11 Chapter III. What's In Your Promise? ................................................................................................... 15 Chapter IV. Funding and Sustaining Promise Programs .................................................................... 21 Chapter V. Building Political Support for Promise Programs............................................................. 30 Chapter VI. Putting It All Together ....................................................................................................... 34

Appendix I. Mentoring: The Tennessee Promise's Secret to Success ................................................ 42 Appendix II. K12 and Post-Secondary Support Services: The Kalamazoo Promise.......................... 44 Appendix III. Aligning Community Resources: Say Yes to Education, Buffalo, NY ............................ 53 Appendix IV. Leveraging Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)........................................................ 54 Appendix V. Leveraging Open Education Resources (OER) ................................................................ 57

Other Resources for Policymakers .................................................................................................... 61 About the Campaign for Free College Tuition .................................................................................. 62

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Introduction

America's future prosperity and its citizens' access to opportunity depend on increasing educational opportunities beyond high school for all students. Public education has always been principally a joint state-community effort. Once again, states led by visionary Governors and community leaders are responding to the need to expand public education for their residents. The case for public action is clear as communities struggle to position their workforce to compete successfully in an increasingly demanding and global marketplace.

States and communities with the highest levels of educational attainment are the places that are winning in this competitive global economy. Business climate matters, but the percentage of a state's workforce with a college degree or occupational certificate matters most.

This document describes programs at the state level that are removing cost as a barrier to postsecondary education. Although there are many alternative approaches to improving affordability, they offer, at best, a piecemeal solution. Providing tuition free opportunities at public colleges and universities is far superior than the typical hodgepodge of aid packages and loans cobbled together by many students. It is easily understood by students and their families, it provides certainty, and it builds on the nation's history of providing free public education.

The challenge is to move a state's level of educational attainment up and to make sure that every person who is willing to work hard and get good grades has equal access to post-secondary degrees, regardless of family income.

The path to providing free tuition is challenging but we've faced similar challenges in our history. The need for a literate citizenry in the new Republic led to free universal primary education by the time of the Civil War The rapid industrialization of America in the late 19th and early 20th century made the creation of free secondary education a necessity by the end of World War I. This expansion of educational opportunity occurred state-by-state and community-by-community. Recognizing the path to our country's success in a knowledge age of global competition, state and community leaders across the country are once again stepping up to the challenge of expanding free public education to assure economic growth and individual opportunity for their residents.

Some examples of state action show that offering free college tuition is possible and broadly supported where it has been implemented.

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? Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam, a Republican, was the first to make community college tuition free in a state. The result has been a sharp increase in the number of Tennessee high school graduates entering college, and strong public support for the program.

? Oregon, with leadership from a Democratic State Senator, has followed suit. Kentucky is expected to implement a similar program for the 2017-2018 school year.

? Michigan, and more recently California, have enacted laws that incent local free tuition programs, with legislative proposals surfacing in a number of other states.

Further evidence that free college tuition is inevitable is the level of public support for the idea. Polling conducted by Penn Schoen Berland on behalf of the Campaign for Free College Tuition (CFCT) indicates

that nearly two-thirds of Americans (63%) support making college tuition free.

All of this free college tuition activity over the past decade at the state and local level means there are lessons to be learned from others about starting such programs, operating them effectively, and funding them. One purpose of this briefing book is to share those experiences. We'll also provide evidence from those programs that have been around long enough to measure real outcomes.

Without the resources to pay for tuition in ways that maintain the health of a state's institutions of higher learning, the promise is empty. We provide information on different funding approaches, as well as paths states can take to meet their specific needs.

While the information and case studies contained in this briefing book focus on state activity, the federal government has a potential funding role to play. We believe the more than $60 billion the federal government currently spends on college scholarships and tax credits could cover the cost of college tuition for in state students in public colleges across the country if repurposed, assuming states pick up their share of the effort too. As in the past, however, we do not expect states to wait for the federal government. As more states have success in expanding post-secondary free public education the possibility of robust federal financing will undoubtedly increase.

We, at the Campaign for Free College Tuition, are available to help in anyway we can. CFCT is a bipartisan 501(c)(3) non-profit organization committed to making a college education affordable for everyone.

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Chapter I -- States Taking the Lead in Making Colleges Tuition Free: Current State Programs

Tennessee Promise

Description

The Tennessee Promise is both a scholarship and mentoring program focused on increasing the number of students attending college in Tennessee. It provides students a last-dollar scholarship, meaning the scholarship will cover tuition and fees not covered by the Pell grant, the HOPE scholarship, or state student assistance funds. Students may use the scholarship at any of the state's 13 community colleges, 27 colleges of applied technology, or other eligible institution offering an associate's degree program.

Website



Enacting Legislation



Funding Source

A $300 million endowment that was established from surplus lottery funds.

Eligibility

High school seniors, beginning with the class of 2015, who graduate from an eligible Tennessee high school, complete a Tennessee home school program, or, prior to his or her 19th birthday, obtain a GED or HiSET diploma. Applicants must be able to complete the FAFSA, qualify for in-state tuition, and possess a valid Social Security number. Additionally, they must attend mandatory meetings and participate in a mentoring program. In college students must attend full-time, continue to participate in the mentoring program, and perform 8 hours of community service prior to each term the award is received.

Legislative Fiscal Note



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