Free public college education in the United States

¶ … Public College Education Should Be Provided Free in the United States

There are groups and organizations throughout the United States that believe that college education should be provided free-of-charge to all individuals wishing to attend college. One such supportive group is related by the Free Higher Ed Website of the South Carolina Labor Party and their campaign for free tuition at all public colleges and universities and states as the reason for needing free high education the fact that: "The average student graduates with $17,000 in debt from student loans; 39% graduates with debt loads that require more than 8% of their monthly income in repayments. In 1999/2000, 71% of students from families earning less than $20,000 per year graduated with debt, compared with 44% of students from families with more than $100,000 annual income. It is not surprising, therefore, that 86% of high school graduates from families with incomes over $80,750 go on to college while only 57% of graduates from families earning less than $33,000 do so. These dollar amounts do not account for the cost to those who avoid pursuing courses of study that appeal to their intellectual curiosities and interest because they fear not being able to earn enough to pay off their loans. Nor does it account for those who do not even consider attending college because of the cost. What would it cost to provide free higher education for everyone currently enrolled in public colleges and universities? The total cost of tuition and fees for everyone currently enrolled in public colleges and universities is approximately $25 billion. This is a sum that is easily manageable in current federal budgets. More than double that amount of money would be available to the federal treasury if only those corporate tax loopholes created between 1990 and 2000 were eliminated." (Free Higher Ed, 2004)

The reason that college education has become so unaffordable is stated as: "Tuition costs have been rising faster than inflation and are projected to skyrocket in coming years. Due to cutbacks in state funding (the primary revenue source for public colleges), many public colleges are projecting tuition increases in the double digits and cuts in need-based financial aid programs. In general, public institutions cost less than private ones, but tuition and fees have increased nearly tenfold (in inflation-adjusted dollars) between 1969 and 1999. Average tuition and fees at public four-year institutions rose from $338 to $3,243 during that time. Private four-year college tuition now averages over $14,000 a year." (Higher Ed, 2007) Under this proposal there is stated to be no age limit "as the right to education should be life-long." (Higher Ed, 2007) Furthermore, both part-time and full-time students would be covered." (Higher Ed, 2007) There are stated to be several reasons for not including private universities in this proposal which includes: (1) Targeting public institutions covers 83% of all students now attending college; (2) Covering the remaining 17% in private schools would make the program nearly twice as expensive; and (3) the Labor Party has always supported public schools and if education is to be considered a right, it should be anchored in public institutions.

II. MODEL for FREE COLLEGE FOLLOWS THAT of G.I. BILL

The plan for free college and universities in the state of South Carolina as stated by the Labor Party include modeling the campaign after the "G.I. Bill, which provided access to higher education for 8 million returning veterans after World War II. It paid all tuition and fees, as well as a living-wage stipend for all qualifying veterans. Its impact on the nation has been tremendous. More than 40% of veterans interviewed who attended college indicated that they wouldn't have been able to without the G.I. Bill. A subcommittee of the Congressional Joint Economic Committee estimated that the G.I. Bill returned $6.90 in revenue for every $1 spent on educating these veterans, based on the resulting increased income and productivity. This investment in education had much broader impact as well. The expansion of enrollments the G.I. Bill made possible stimulated construction of new facilities and institutions, increased demand for faculty and staff, and stimulated commercial development. The nation benefited from the veterans' talents and abilities that otherwise would not have been cultivated. That educational experience also provided the economic security and interest that made it possible for immediate beneficiaries' children and their children to pursue higher education. College and university life was broadened from the perspectives of a wider range of the American class and social spectrum." (Higher Ed, 2004) it is related that the City University of New York (CUNY) attempt in the 1970s to: "...deliver on the dream of free higher education" however, it is also related that: "As budget crises increased the pressure on states and municipalities, most of these types of institutions were forced to charge tuition and/or constantly escalate fees." (Higher Ed, 2004) This proposal concludes by stating: "...our nation did not always have universal access to high school. It was secured because people fought for it, in spite of dire warnings from opponents. In fact, many wealthy families in the early 1900s felt that resources would be wasted if high school were made available to the masses." (Higher Ed, 2004)

The work of Laura McClure (2002) entitled: "Higher Sights" relates that "The National Conference of Black Political Scientists has become the first academic professional organization to sign on to a Labor Party-led campaign for free higher public education. The campaign' statement of academics in support of free higher education is circulating among leading academics around the country." In March, the New Jersey Industrial Union Council and the California Nurses Association signed on." (McClure, 2002) McClure states: "Most people believe that a college education is a key to a good job for themselves and their children. But paying for it is getting harder and harder. Tuition and fees increased nearly tenfold (in inflation-adjusted dollars) between 1969 and 1999. Average tuition and fees at public four-year institutions rose from $338 to $3,243 during that time. Private four-year college tuition now averages over $14,000 a year." (2002) According to Joan Greenbaum, professor at the City University of New York's LaGuardia College and at the CUNY Grad Center: "...tuition at CUNY stabilized in the early 1990s following militant student protests against rising costs. Now, though, CUNY, once famous for providing free high-quality education for all New Yorkers, is increasing costs in 'stealth wars.' Tuition has just doubled for non-documented immigrants. Serving immigrants, she notes, is part of CUNY's original mission. And yet these hard-hit students face huge tuition increases just because, somewhere at the INS, the paperwork's not finished." (McClure, 2002) Furthermore, with all the lab and book fees when it is all added up five classes and their associated fees could be $500 per college semester.

IV. ADOLPH REED on FREE COLLEGE EDUCATION

The work of Reed (2001) states that in 2000 "polls indicated that respondents included education, along with the economy, as one of the two highest priority issues in choosing a presidential candidate. Although much of this expressed concern is centered on the quality of pre-collegiate schooling, Americans are also worried about access to post-secondary education. Legitimately so, for post-secondary education is increasingly a prerequisite for effective labor force participation, for any hope of a relatively secure, decent job. If that is the case, shouldn't society have an obligation to provide universal access to such an essential social good? Why should we accept a putative consensus that preempts consideration of an issue so important to so many Americans?" (Reed, 2001) Reed relates that "Universal access to higher education is not entirely unprecedented in recent American history. The most dramatic approximation to it was the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, popularly known as the GI Bill, under which a generation of Second World War veterans received what was usually full tuition support and stipends (up to nearly $12,000 per year in 1994 dollars) to attend post-secondary educational institutions. By 1952, the federal government had spent $7 billion (nearly $39 billion in 1994 dollars) on sending veterans to college. This amounted to 1.3% of total federal expenditures ($521.8 billion) during that period. A 1988 report by a congressional subcommittee on education and health estimated that 40% of those who attended college under the GI Bill would not otherwise have done so. The report also found that each dollar spent educating that 40% produced a $6.90 return (more than $267 billion in 1994 dollars) in national output due to extra education and increased federal tax revenues from the extra income the beneficiaries earned." (Reed, 2001) Reed states that the "dynamics set in motion by the GI Bill had broad, positive ramification for the country as a whole extending far beyond the direct beneficiaries" and the latter benefited from income increasing, occupational and employment opportunities and personal group and enrichment..." (2001) Furthermore, these benefits "...extended intergenerationally making for greater opportunities for their children and families which contributed to a general expansion in college enrollments through the 1970s, far outstripping the population growth." (Reed, 2001) There was a 21% increase in enrollments between 1950 and 1960. 1.7% of the total U.S. population were enrolled in colleges and universities in 1950 rising to 5.2% by 1975. This growth "fueled a dramatic expansion of colleges and universities. Bulging enrollments led to substantial enlargement of physical plant and capacities at existing institution. Increased demand for higher education also prompted creation of new institutions, many of them public campuses in urban and under-served rural areas that brought higher education physically within reach of new segments of society. The Bureau of the Census counted 1,708 institutions of higher education in 1940 and 1,959 in 1960; by 1981, the number had risen to more than 3,200. All this expansion in turn stimulated construction and other employment opportunities, ranging from faculties and staff to support services and the commercial sector. It also dramatically democratized college and university life and broadened and deepened the intellectual life of campuses and academic disciplines." (Reed, 2001) Reed states that there were factors "other than public tuition support" which were contributors to the postwar explosion in attendance of higher education institutions including: (1) the general economic prosperity of the period; (2) the rising wages, benefits and job security; and (3) the perceived need to invest in education sparked by the Soviet Union's launching of Sputnik in 1957." (Reed, 2001) Reed relates that the history of the City University of New York (CUNY) "provides a local, but instructive illustration of the general social benefits that result from removing financial constraint from access to higher education. The free tuition policy in effect in the CUNY system until the 1970s also brought higher education within reach for tends of thousands of people for whom it otherwise would have been no more than an unrealizable dream." (Reed, 2001) During the latter part of the 1970s and on through the 1980s the costs associated with attending an higher education institution rose all across the nation and the federal grant aid support "decreased relative to need." (Reed, 2001) in the years since tuition and costs of attending college have risen steadily and dramatically and "increasingly, college attendance for all except the wealthy has become contingent on qualification for interest-carrying student loans." (Reed, 2001) This eliminates many potential students who are not able to afford the loan or who cannot qualify for the loan. Many students fail to complete their degree because the funds run out before they complete the requirements for the degree. Others take time out of school to work in order to get their degree and others who completed their degree with a heavy burden of student loans to repay.

The work entitled: "Free Tuition at All Public Colleges and Universities for Students Who Meet Admissions Standards" states that "No motivated and well prepared young person should be denied a college education simply because he or she cannot afford it." (Debs-Jones Institute, 2002) the following table lists what would be provided and eliminated through free higher education at public colleges and universities for those who meet admissions criteria.

Free Higher Education at Public Colleges and Universities for those Who Meet Admission Criteria

Source Debs-Jones Institute (2002)

According to the study of the Deb-Jones Institute, adults with higher levels of education have better jobs and earn more money than those without higher levels of education. According to this report: (1) 74% of all full-time students work while attending school; (2) One in every five students works full-time; (3) Students report that working long hours has a negative effect on their grades and limits their choice and number of classes; (4) 29% of low-income students work more than 35 hours per week; (5) 53% of low-income freshman who work more than 35 hours per week do not remain enrolled and do not receive a degree; and (6) Faced with repaying unexpected huge loans, students often must rethink their career plans. Lower-paying occupations in teaching, social services and health care...may suffer is students are forced to see more lucrative jobs to repay loans. (Deb-Jones Institute, 2002)

SUMMARY and CONCLUSION

There are arguments both in support of and in opposition to the provision of free college education in the United States. While an increasingly number of individual, obtaining four-year college degrees has been said to lessen the value of a four-year degree. It is very likely that the reason that the United States excelled in the industrial, space, and technology arenas in the 1960s, 70s, 80s, and 90s, is due to assistance with college education for U.S. citizens. It is important that the United States once again look at the future through the lens that includes the view of the potential scholars who will under present conditions fail to attend a higher education college or university.