Free college may be stalled on the national level, but it’s riding a wave of momentum in statehouses and city halls. It’s still seen by many as a litmus test for presidential candidates’ commitment to college affordability. But as programs and proposals proliferate, so has confusion over what exactly is meant by free. Here’s a primer to help sort through the many flavors of free among the more than 300 programs that have been rolled out so far.
The programs vary in how the money is distributed. They’re generally categorized in these ways:
First Dollar — Funds are provided to students before any other grants kick in. After using this money to cover tuition, they can apply their Pell Grants or other awards to pay for expenses like transportation, child care, food, and housing. These relatively generous programs are rare; among the states where colleges offer them to at least some students are California, Louisiana, and Indiana.
Last Dollar — Most free-college programs, including those in Tennessee and New York, fall into this category. Tuition is covered only after students have used up any available public grants. Low-income students whose tuition is already covered by Pell Grants, which offer as much as about $6,000 per year, could see limited, if any, benefits from this approach.
Last Dollar Plus — Grants fill the gap between a student’s financial aid and the cost of tuition and fees, but they may also provide extra money to help defray nontuition costs for low-income students. They might, for instance, provide $500 to cover the cost of textbooks. Oregon’s program, which fits this model, ran into financial problems and had to temporarily scale back after more students than expected, including many from relatively well-off families, signed on.
Programs may also carry different labels:
Tuition-free — Grants cover only tuition, not the full cost of attending college.
Debt-free — They also pay for basic living expenses, including food, housing, transportation, and child care. Graduating debt-free means graduating without loans.
The money can be used in different sectors:
Free for two years of college — Most programs, like Tennessee’s, apply only to community and technical colleges; others would extend the benefits to two years at public four-year colleges.
Free for all four years — Much less common, largely because of the cost, are programs that span four years. New York’s Excelsior Scholarship covers four years of tuition at the state’s public colleges for families and individuals making up to $125,000 a year. However, it carries restrictions that have severely limited participation. For example, students have to remain in the state for a certain number of years after graduating, or their grants become loans. Students also have to enroll full time, which excludes many single parents and working adults who need to attend part time.
Free college comes with various strings attached:
Some set a minimum grade-point average or require full-time attendance. In addition to New York’s, West Virginia’s proposed program, which is awaiting the governor’s signature, requires students to stick around and work in the state for at least two years after graduating. They also have to maintain a 2.0 grade-point average, pass a drug test each semester, and perform at least eight hours of community service. Other states limit their programs to students enrolled in fields with work-force shortages. Arkansas pays for tuition at community or technical colleges only for students in high-demand fields like computer science and welding.
Katherine Mangan writes about community colleges, completion efforts, and job training, as well as other topics in daily news. Follow her on Twitter @KatherineMangan, or email her at katherine.mangan@chronicle.com.
