Dive Brief:
- While official numbers aren’t available yet, early results show nearly 75% more incoming community college freshmen enrolled in the Tennessee Promise program than originally projected.
- About 13,000 students were expected to take advantage of the free community college offer through the the last dollar program’s inaugural year, and it so far looks like more than 22,500 students will start their first semester of eligibility, having completed an eight-hour community service requirement this summer.
- Inside Higher Ed reports that some community colleges have seen spikes in enrollment along with four-year schools that offer associate degrees, but a number of four-year institutions have lost underclassmen because of the program.
Dive Insight:
Carson-Newman University is one school that has built out its associate degree offerings to capture a portion of the Tennessee Promise population. Four-year colleges that might otherwise lose students because of the lure of two free years at a community college can follow this path. Oregon will become the second state to offer free community college to its residents, and California is among the other states reportedly considering a similar program. Such offers are meant to increase access to higher education for low-income students, and colleges should plan ahead for the consequences of implementation in their states.