Should College Be Free Articles

Lower Student Debt Levels

In general, with free college education, students would also not have to suffer from the financial burden which comes along with high amounts of student debt.

Student debt is one of the worst forms of debt since it often implies high interest rates and has also some other additional downsides.

Therefore, by relieving students from this debt, they might have a much easier start for their future life since they can use their money for other important things, for example to buy a home.

Analysis: Should College Athletes Be Paid

These athletes are receiving a college education in return for their skills in sports” . In a way, college athletes are already getting paid. Universities should not have to hand out more money to their athletes just to satisfy them. It would be unfair to other non-athlete students if college athletes were to receive payment for play and give athletic scholarships. Non-athlete students dont get paid to do their school work.

Should College Be Free: What About Private Institutions

If all public colleges and universities are made tuition-free, we could see the decline of private vs. public schools. Since these schools rely on tuition, endowments, and alumni donations for a good portion of their funding, competing with free public schools could force many private schools to close. This would reduce the amounts of job opportunities for professors and could result in the death of many fantastic programs.

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Kids From Rich Families Do Not Need Free Education

There is also the issue that with free college education, also the kids from rich families who actually would be easily able to pay for college tuition would no longer be forced to pay for their college education.

Thus, free education might also benefit many people who do not actually need any financial support to send their kids to college.

Pro : It Is An Excellent Investment

Another argument is that investing in education isnt just the right thing to do its smart economics.

• True: Eliminating tuition fees at all public colleges and universities would cost at least $79 billion a year. However, in terms of lost revenues and increased social services, out of school or unemployed young Americans cost taxpayers about $93 billion a year .
• True: Low graduation rates can cause the states to lose at least more than $100 million in income taxes and at least $15 million in federal income taxes.
• True: On the individual level, the cost of illiteracy in terms of social and economic effects costs more than $300.8 billion in lost business productivity and earnings as well as expenses for social welfare, crime, and health.
• True: An uneducated society will cost hundreds of billions of dollars for health services, welfare, and unemployment benefits, lost tax revenues, lost productivity, and poor economic competitiveness as well as poor civic engagement.

Takeaway: It costs less to offer free tuition for all than to let Americans go through life without a college degree.

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Better Average Education Levels

Through free college education, also the average education levels of the general public would likely improve significantly.

Such an improvement in education would benefit people in many different ways.

For instance, if people have a better financial education, they are more likely to make better investment decisions, which in turn results in higher levels of wealth in the long run.

Current Student Aid Is Inadequate And Students Are Forced To Struggle For Tuition Money When They Should Be Studying

Students would be able to focus more on their studies rather than worrying about how to scrape together enough funds for each upcoming school term if college were free. More students might graduate on time, ready to take on important jobs in their communities. The cost of attending a four-year college has increased by 1,122% since 1978. In 1978, a student at a four-year, public university could earn enough in a minimum wage summer job to pay tuition. Those days are long gone. Today it would take more than a full year to make enough. Student aid is just not enough help. For example, today, a federal Pell Grant covers only about 30% of the average cost of going to a public four-year college or university. In 1973 it covered over 75% of the cost.

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Pro : Its An Important Basic Need

If we view higher education as a fundamental right, some college options would have to be free of charge and funded by the taxpayers.

• True: Higher education has become more important due to rapid industrialization and technological innovations. More jobs in the near future will require college-educated workers.
• True: Free-tuition colleges nationwide can help students who most need financial help, as well as states that need to have a skilled workforce.
• False: Other basic needs must be met before students can learn effectively, such as nutrition, exercise, transportation, and neighborhood environments.
• False: A steady source of income is more important than free college tuition.

Takeaway: Free college tuition is not the most important of all basic human needs.

More Kids From Poor Families Could Attend College

Free college education is especially important for kids who come from rather poor families and who would never be able to afford college education if there were high tuition fees.

Hence, for children from poor families, free college education would be a real blessing since they would now be able to get good college education without having to pay large sums of money for it.

In turn, it would become more likely that children from poor families would be able to get out of poverty since education and financial wealth are strongly correlated.

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The Advantages Of Online University

With technological advances, online universities are proliferating. Online universities require less overhead costs. Therefore, they are almost always cheaper than traditional schools. However, there are even some that are totally tuition-free.

Founded in 2009, Shai Reshef started the University of the People with the mission to offer an affordable and quality education to anyone around the world. Students from over 200 countries and territories have been in attendance of the online programs.

We have degree programs in Computer Science, Health Science, Education, and Business Administration.

Thanks to a wide network of volunteers and professors from renowned institutions around the world, the education offered parallels that of a traditional American university and is accredited as such.

Free College Will Hike Costs For Taxpayers And Make The System More Opaque

Free, free, free is the Democratic presidential front runners proposed solution to many kitchen-table issues, including the high and rising price of college. Joe Biden indicated his support for 16 years of free public education in a 2015 statement. Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have made free college, as well as total or significant student debt forgiveness, part of their campaigns. However, prices give students and the public essential information, and we need to let the price system work with minimal distortions to help students tailor their best educational path.

Past federal attempts to increase higher education affordability third-party payments of guaranteed private loans and direct federal loans and grants contributed to non-transparent pricing and fueled rising prices. Free college would make things worse, while simultaneously transferring the entire burden to taxpayers. What American colleges need is more price transparency, not less.

Its virtually impossible to know what four or more college years will cost at the time of admission. Prospective students and their families must face the daunting task of combining colleges listed price, possible institutional scholarships, government grants, loans, work study, and more to determine the true price. Now add the confusion of third-party payment, out-of-pocket vs. future student-debt payments, and various loan forgiveness programs, and the true price becomes even more obscured.

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Con : There Are Many Free College Options

Another argument against offering free college is that many other free college options already exist. So, why spend billions of tax dollars to create a free college system for all?

• True: There are tuition-free colleges in at least 20 US states that charge fees for room, board, and so on, such as at Berea College, College of the Ozarks, Deep Springs College, Warren Wilson College, and the Webb Institute.
• True: Massive Open Online Courses include free online courses open to anyone, anywhere. MOOCs such as the University of the People, Harvard EdX, and Coursera. Some require fees for a certificate.
• False: Despite the free tuition, many cannot afford the required fees for books, housing, meals, supplies, event tickets, activity fees, and other living expenses.
• False: Many cannot meet the requirements of current free college offers, such as required travel, residence, campus work, full-time attendance, or low family income.

Takeaway: Aside from offering free college to all, there is a need to improve existing alternative learning opportunities to meet more real needs of many students.

Financial Aid Already Reduces The Cost Of College

Despite the shocking sticker price of college, most students don’t pay the full amount. In 2017-18, 86% of students received financial aid, including Pell Grants for low-income students. Factoring in aid from the federal government, state, and school can dramatically reduce the cost of college, sometimes even making it free.

Those who can’t afford college can take advantage of Pell Grants and public service loan forgiveness, which cancels the remaining education debt of students who work in public service for 10 years.

These debt forgiveness programs echo the free-college models of some European countries, where students receive a free postsecondary education in exchange for serving the country for a period of time after graduation.

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Why Should College Be Free

How much would free college cost? It will cost less since students will only have to pay for their books, supplies, rent, and other living expenses. However, if students can acquire free grants for college, then they can use this money for paying their books, and other educational expenses.

The tuition-free college has its pros and cons. But if free college will be approved, what will happen to private institutions? Since these private institutions are relying more on tuition fees, then most probably they will have no other choice but to close down. This can lead to lesser job opportunities for professors.

For students who cannot afford to pay for their tuition fees, they can try searching for free online college courses.

Why Should College Be Free For Everyone

Proponents of free college believe that it would benefit the entire nation, not just the individual students who take advantage of it. They see it as both a private and public benefit. After all, more and more of today’s jobs are knowledge-based or require advanced technical skills. So a better-educated workforce would help fill many of the skills gaps that prevent America’s economy from growing faster.

Plus, since more people would be able to attain employer-desired credentials, more people would be able to take the good-paying jobs that often go unfilled. And that could result in billions of additional dollars circulating throughout the economy since people tend to spend more money when they have higher incomes and little or no debt. It could also mean that the government would take in a lot of extra tax revenues, which could go a long way toward paying for free public colleges.

But the issue of why college should be free isn’t just an economic one. It’s also a moral and philosophical one. Do we want every American, regardless of social standing, to have an equal opportunity to reach his or her potential? That’s what this country is supposed to be about, yet social mobility has been eroding for the poor and middle class. And without easy and affordable access to quality higher education for everyone, the collective intelligence and goodwill of the nation could also erode. America might become even more socially divided.

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Back To The Free College Proposals

What do these results mean for President Bidens and CPs proposals? The table below provides a side-by-side comparison. The main difference is the level of detail. This reflects that the CP plan was designed to align with, and flesh out, the Biden campaign proposal. Perhaps the only substantive difference is that the CP proposal includes private colleges. The Biden campaign documents exclude private colleges, though the American Families Plan just says free community college, signaling alignment with the CP plan. Both proposals are clearly in the category of open access aid.

There are numerous similarities between these provisions and the Milwaukee program that my team and I studied. All three programs make two-year college free for all students without income requirements and through early commitment of aid. All three require the FAFSA and high school graduation. Importantly, unlike both the Biden and CP proposals, the Milwaukee program had merit requirements, which undermined its success. This is partly why our evidence is so relevant to the current debate.

Reasons The First Two Years Of College Should Be Free

College is where students begin to discover themselves, make new friends, and often begin to sink in the quicksand that is the cost of college. Theres no doubt that college is expensive, nor is there any denying that the student loans people take out can wage a heavy and increasing debt over their heads for

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Advantages & Disadvantages Of Free College

There is an ongoing discussion about whether college should be free or not in many countries all over the world.

While there are many advantages related to free college education, there are also some problems related to it.

In this article, the pros and cons of free college education are examined in detail.

Free College Is Not A New Or Radical Concept

• John Adams, writing in 1785: The whole people must take upon themselves the education of the whole people and must be willing to bear the expense of it.
• Rutherford B. Hayes, Inaugural Address,1877: But at the basis of all prosperity, for that as well as for every other part of the country, lies the improvement of the intellectual and moral condition of the people. Universal suffrage should rest upon universal education. To this end, liberal and permanent provision should be made for the support of free schools by the State governments, and, if need be, supplemented by legitimate aid from national authority.
• Morill Act of 1862: The Morrill Act of 1862 enabled land-grant colleges to be created by states on federal lands so that higher education could become available to Americans in every social class. Initially, students could often attend tuition-free. Eventually, public colleges started charging tuition.
• The GI Bill: Following World War II, over two million veterans were able to get free college educations thanks to the GI Bill. Many of these people would never have been able to attend college otherwise. It changed their lives and our country because it helped the economy and increased the countrys talent pool. The GI Bill is often cited by scholars as a major reason for the high productivity and economic growth in the United States after the war.

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Pro : College Grads Pay More Taxes To The Government

In terms of governance, one strong argument for free college is that more employed college graduates mean that the government earns more taxes to provide better serves to everyone.

• True: Studies indicate that, within a 40-year career, a college graduate can earn about $650,000 more than a high school graduate or up to $800,000 more by retirement age.
• True: Each college graduate pays more than $510,000 in taxes during their lifetime, while high school graduates pay $273,000 less.
• True: For every $28,000 state investment in a student who earns a degree in four years, there is a resulting $355,000 in reduced government spending and increased tax revenues across all levels of government.
• False: Americans practice tax avoidance worth almost $200 billion each year.

Takeaway: College graduates can earn more and pay more taxes, but some dont. At the same time, due to government corruption, taxes in the billions benefit a few.

Head To Head: Should College Education Be Free

• Yukana Inoue, interim opinion editor Caroline Thoms, opinion staff writer

College education in the United States is incredibly expensive, and tuition continues to rise at most public and private schools every year, increasing more than 200% since 1988 for public schools. Interim opinion editor Yukana Inoue and opinion staff writer Caroline Thoms go head-to-head on whether college education should be free or not.

As college students at a private institution, we all know with our flesh and bones that college is ridiculously expensive. When I was applying to schools as a high school senior, I could not help but compare the price difference between U.S. colleges and universities back home in Japan, and I could not fathom what possible reason there was for it to be literally five times the price.

As of 2019, the average tuition and fees of in-state public schools were $10,000 a year, and in 120 ranked private colleges, many were well over $50,000. well over $50,000. This burdens every student trying to receive higher education, having a detrimental effect on American society as a whole.

A college education is a fundamental factor in shaping the future of an individual and by extension our society. Therefore, we as a country have more to benefit from providing free higher education and allowing more students to receive the education that they deserve.

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