Issue Briefs

Free Public College

Historically, the federal role in higher education has focused on aiding students to attend the college of their choice. Federal aid is distributed based on a student’s need, not on the type of institution the student attends.

In recent years, various proposals have been made to shift the federal focus to provide free public college to some or all families.  Some of the proposals are focused on community colleges and some are focused on all public institutions.  Such proposals are less likely to target low-income students - on whom the policy conversation at the federal level must remain focused.

A key concern with these programs is that they do not consistently target resources to low-income students.  Private, nonprofit colleges, public four-year, and public two-year colleges all have similar percentages of Pell Grant students in their enrollments. All colleges serve a public mission, even if the independent sector does not get additional state support. The federal higher education investment must remain focused on low-income students, wherever they choose to attend.

Issue Overview

The free public college movement began when President Obama first suggested supplemental federal funding for community colleges in his 2015 State of the Union Address. Since then, there have been a variety of federal proposals introduced in Congress to provide institutional aid to all public colleges, state-level free public college programs have been proliferating, and free public college has become a popular progressive campaign promise.

President Biden included free public college as a key policy plank in his 2020 campaign and has included budget proposals for free community college since his election, but these have not survived the legislative process.

At the state level, free public two-year or community college tuition is available in 33 states. New York enacted the first free public four-year tuition in 2017, and now nine additional states offer free public four-year tuition with varying eligibility criteria.

Currently in Congress, there are two prominent proposals for free public college Congressional Democrats have championed:

  1. Free community college through the America’s College Promise Act, a federal-state partnership for tuition waivers at public community colleges; and
  2. Free four-year public college through the College for All Act, which would provide free public two- and four-year tuition for families making less than $125,000.

These proposals have been introduced in both chambers in the last two congresses. They continue to be difficult to enact as they both have high price tags, and Republicans are staunchly against “free” college of any kind.

NAICU supports the Partnership for Affordability and Student Success (PASS) Act, introduced by Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Jack Reed (D-RI), which expands the existing federal-state partnership to increase state need-based grant aid. This bill has not been reintroduced in the 118th Congress.

History

When Congress reauthorized the Higher Education Act in 1972, the higher education debate focused on whether the federal investment should be targeted to students or to institutions. Ultimately, there was strong bipartisan agreement that students should receive assistance to attend the college of their choice through the establishment of the current array of student aid programs. This policy decision has had remarkable success in democratizing American higher education, and in encouraging states and institutions to provide their own aid to make college affordable to those of moderate means. 

In contacts with your elected officials:
 

  • Emphasize that the federal focus on aid to students should remain strong. This proven approach has helped millions of hard-working, low-income students complete college and become independent.  
  • Explain that targeting federal funds to a specific sector of higher education will not help students equitably and, in many cases, will favor wealthier students over those with greater need.
  • Explain that any "federal-state partnership" should assist students at public and private colleges in the state equitably.
  • Highlight the investment your institution makes in students, beyond the federal aid they bring to your school.
  • Work with your state independent college association to show how state need-based aid helps make college possible for Pell Grant students.

In the News

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