Dive Brief:
- President Barack Obama’s proposal for two years of free community college got a lot of attention after he announced it in the State of the Union, but if a program gets off the ground, it won’t be the first of its kind.
- Inside Higher Ed reports that schools in Philadelphia; Chicago; Galesburg, Ill.; San Luis Obispo County, Calif.; New Haven, Conn.; and Georgia all have variations of the free college offer and the North Carolina legislature is considering its own statewide program. And, of course, there's the Tennessee Promise program that has frequently been cited by the president.
- Some require students to maintain high GPAs, others allow as low as a 2.5, some require low-income status, many cover the gap between financial aid and tuition while others cover the entire costs, some are funded by state lottery systems or government appropriations, and others survive based on endowed donations, according to the article.
Dive Insight:
The variation across “free” community college programs highlights the priorities across different states and local regions, as well as the funding realities across the board. With so many models to choose from, it will be interesting to see how Congress shapes legislation — if it can — and how other states implement new programs. Harper College in suburban Chicago, Inside Higher Ed reports, expects students to maintain only a C+ average to be eligible for the scholarship and places more emphasis on volunteer work. That is an unusual academic eligibility base but highlights the community college’s openness to students outside the very highest levels of academic achievement. It’s a perspective worth considering, especially in a discussion about making college available to the neediest students.