It’s a start
In many capitalist European countries, college students do not have to pay tuition fees out of their own pockets. Here in America, most students have to fund their own college costs, which for many students means student loans. Whether or not they complete the degree, student loan borrowers can’t discharge these loans through bankruptcy.
Of course, college isn’t free in Europe, it’s paid for by taxpayers. Presumably, those countries believe the benefits of an educated citizenry repays the investment. I guess Americans don’t.
But in Massachusetts, they’re taking a small step towards the European model. MassReconnect offers free community college to any student over the age of 25:
“Less than a year after the Healey administration launched the program, MassReconnect appears successful in encouraging older students to enroll in community college, according to new enrollment data the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education gave the editorial board. The program offers free tuition and fees plus a stipend for books and supplies to Massachusetts residents over 25 attending public community college . . . Massachusetts’ community colleges have seen continuous drops in enrollment for the past decade. That changed this year when enrollment actually increased by 8.7 percent, according to state figures. The increase coincided with an influx in public funding for higher education, including MassReconnect, increased financial aid for low-income students of all ages, and additional aid for students entering nursing and other high-demand careers.”
*snip*
“The biggest challenge will be ensuring that students who start a degree finish it, and one important metric to follow will be how many students who entered the program this year reenroll. Community colleges generally have low rates of college completion. If a student gets money but drops out before getting their degree, that is probably a waste of student time and taxpayer money.”
Some multi-year scholarships are contingent on maintaining a certain GPA. That’s one way to incent degree completion.
I hope the program is successful and eventually expanded to four-year colleges and universities.
Free community college in Massachusetts
Of course, college isn’t free in Europe, it’s paid for by taxpayers. Presumably, those countries believe the benefits of an educated citizenry repays the investment. I guess Americans don’t.
But in Massachusetts, they’re taking a small step towards the European model. MassReconnect offers free community college to any student over the age of 25:
“Less than a year after the Healey administration launched the program, MassReconnect appears successful in encouraging older students to enroll in community college, according to new enrollment data the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education gave the editorial board. The program offers free tuition and fees plus a stipend for books and supplies to Massachusetts residents over 25 attending public community college . . . Massachusetts’ community colleges have seen continuous drops in enrollment for the past decade. That changed this year when enrollment actually increased by 8.7 percent, according to state figures. The increase coincided with an influx in public funding for higher education, including MassReconnect, increased financial aid for low-income students of all ages, and additional aid for students entering nursing and other high-demand careers.”
*snip*
“The biggest challenge will be ensuring that students who start a degree finish it, and one important metric to follow will be how many students who entered the program this year reenroll. Community colleges generally have low rates of college completion. If a student gets money but drops out before getting their degree, that is probably a waste of student time and taxpayer money.”
Some multi-year scholarships are contingent on maintaining a certain GPA. That’s one way to incent degree completion.
I hope the program is successful and eventually expanded to four-year colleges and universities.
Free community college in Massachusetts
The other difference in the European approach is that students have to qualify by grades and testing to go. That’s true here, of course, with respect to desirable schools but there are schools who will take whoever can pay.
@Jack,
Yes, I knew about having to qualify for free higher ed in Europe, and I have no problem with qualifying criteria for four-year colleges and universities. For community colleges, I don’t have a problem with the MA approach, and if they end up imposing a minimum GPA for continuation on a semester-by-semester basis, that is reasonable too. Of course, changing majors doesn’t affect your GPA, and if someone drops out, they no longer need tuition.
back in the day jr college was essentially free to anyone who applied. couple of things wrong with the “good record” approach. most important is that people change. my daughter did not graduate from high school now she has a ph.d.
second thing wrong…people drop out or change majors. if that means their education was “wasted” then it must have always been worthless. the job i finally got after years of hating what i was doing did not require a college degree, but in the last days of human sense my boss saw what i could do and let me do it. but i never felt my education was wasted.
trouble i had with school was the cattle drive approach to it. that may have been dictated by the “taxpayers wanting their money’s worth.” which would be fine if they had any idea what their money was worth.
in evolutionary genetics if you want to know. and she is breathtakingly smarter than i am. which is probably why she did not get along in high school.
Odd to me that there would be a minimum age for this. Isn’t that a very strong incentive to wait possibly years past the point you think community college would be a good idea for you? If the argument is this is good for Massachusetts, isn’t getting that education at 20 instead of 25 even a bit better?
@Eric,
From the article, it appears that this is based on the fact that that’s where most enrollment growth potential lies. I didn’t write the policy.
Somehow, I doubt there will be many people who will delay community college enrollment just to take advantage of the program. There’s a strong incentive to get a job after high school–college is an opportunity cost, even when tuition is free.
Eric
i was thinking maybe they thought the kids needed some time to burn off the excess hormones, or figure out what they wanted to do in life. The colleges don’t seem to think they should have any part in helping them do that. or maybe they were just longing for the old G.I.Bill days when the students were older and more serious minded.
if i had waited until i was 25 i would probably never have gone to college and would have had an extra million dollars to retire on. Of course I wouldn’t have had the education and would probably still be a Republican.