WASHINGTON – As conversations continue about the benefits and challenges surrounding free college programs throughout the nation, institutions, states and the federal government have an opportunity to improve college affordability and move towards equitable free college programs, according to education policy experts and college completion leaders featured on “The State of Free College” panel hosted by the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP).
Expanding on IHEP’s analyses of the Tennessee Promise program and New York’s Excelsior Scholarship – two programs that researchers found to “fall short” on making college affordable for low-income students – panelists discussed elements of several free college programs that proved sustainable, efforts to increase the distribution of aid to low-income students first and opportunities for partnerships and federal support for institutions to serve their students well.
Among the concerns about free college programs is that such efforts do not cover non-tuition related expenses such as housing, transportation or outside educational fees.
“The devil is in the details,” said Jen Mishory, a senior fellow at The Century Foundation. Mishory’s research on free college programs found that early programs in the 1990s were “first-dollar” models and income-targeted, with some tying their eligibility to free and reduced lunch status.
These programs, such as the ones in Indiana, Oklahoma and Washington state, also extended to both two- and four-year institutions, another equitable recommendation that both IHEP and The Education Trust have promoted in their reports on improving free college programs.
“We have a highly stratified higher education system already,” said Mamie Voight, vice president of policy research at IHEP. Having free college programs that focus primarily on two-year colleges reinforces the stratification of low-income and other underserved students to community colleges when they should have the opportunity to attend any institution type that benefits them, Voight added.
Despite their shortcomings, the successes of free college programs, particularly in Tennessee, include an increase in the college-going culture and a renewed value in transfer agreements, said Dr. Kenyatta Lovett, executive director of Complete Tennessee.
