BACKGROUND READINGS

Reading 1
PROS AND CONS OF TUITION-
FREE COLLEGE
Published by Ellen Andersen

One of the center-stage issues of this

presidential political season has concerned
the affordability of college education.
President Obama has tried to move
forward on making community colleges
free to eligible students, although we
haven’t seen too much traction from that
as of yet. Bernie Sanders’ platform upped
that to making all public colleges free, and Hilary Clinton has proposed making it affordable to those that
need the help. As with any political issue, there are pros and cons to it.

PRO: More Lower-Income Students Might Reach Graduation

Some students drop out because they do not have the ability to pay for tuition all four years. Making college
tuition free would eliminate this reason for not graduating. This would also serve to improve college’s
graduation rates, as fewer students would feel the need to drop to part-time status or take a break from
education for financial reasons.

CON: The Money Has to Come From Somewhere

If America were to move to a tuition free college policy, where would the money come from? The short and
simple answer is taxes. Who gets taxed seems to vary based on who is talking, but it seems certain that the
upper echelons of American society will see increased taxes if this passes. There is a likelihood that it will
increase the upper middle-class as well. Or maybe it will all come from Wall Street speculation taxes. The
point is, all we know is that someone will pay these dues through taxes, and the uncertainty of who will
carry the burden is not making many Americans comfortable.

PRO: Student Debt Will No Longer Crush the Younger Generations

If an American college student is able to graduate with less than $10,000 in student loan debt, they are
considered lucky. However, students from other countries that have tuition free college have that luxury;
most of their loans come from living expenses and books. Without the weight of student loan debt, more
college graduates might buy houses rather than renting apartments. They might buy cars, spend more on
healthy food, travel more: In essence, they could contribute more to the economy.

CON: Younger Generations Won’t Know How to Handle Finances

College is full of learning experiences, one of which is learning how to work with a budget. College loans
are often the first major financial dealing that people work with. Paying them off in a timely manner proves
you know how to budget your money, skills people use again and again when buying cars or houses.
Without having to pay for school, that experience won’t exist, which might be trouble down the road for
buying that house or car.
PRO: Students Might Have More Freedom to Choose a Major They Enjoy

Whether it is the influence of parents or knowing you need to pay loans back as quickly as possible, current
students are often guided toward “practical” majors that have a more lucrative post-graduation income. If
shelling out thousands upon thousands of dollars is no longer a factor, parents and students might feel more
relaxed about studying for majors that don’t necessarily have a large paycheck associated with them. Interest
and enjoyment from a field of study goes a long way in helping students stick with it and avoid burning out.

CON: College Might Not Seem As Important

If higher education at public schools becomes free, it might appear to devalue a college diploma. It might
also lead to students cutting more classes or not trying because they don’t have to “get their money’s worth”
when they aren’t paying for anything. The current price of college drives students to complete their
schooling as quickly as possible so as to reduce debt. Without that financial drive, we might see more
laziness and lackadaisical behavior from our students.

PRO: More People Would Go to College

By negating the large bill of a college education, we could see an increase in the amount of students able to
attend college. This then creates a more well-educated workforce and a population that has better critical
thinking skills. This could lead to more innovation in all areas of society.

CON: More People Would Go to College

As enrollment at public schools increases, so do the fees. Either more money would have to be given to the
schools, or they would have to create waitlists. This means that the taxes for education-related purposes
might go up, or funding for something else (such as military expenditures) might be diverted to pay the
influx of fees. In addition to this, the large amount of graduates might oversaturate some areas of the
workforce, leaving even more people with degrees working jobs that they are overqualified for.

One Last Thought: What About Private Institutions?

If all public colleges and universities are made tuition free, we could see the decline of private 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.

Reading 2
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.
Ultimately, many people believe that a college-level education should be
an absolute right, so long as you have the ability to benefit from it. Here
are some of the other commonly cited reasons why college should be free:
 There might be a lot fewer Americans who need to seek
other forms of public assistance.
 People would have more freedom to contribute their talents,
try new ideas, and pursue the lives they want if they didn't
have to start off in debt or stay stuck in a low-wage job. That could lead to happier people.
And happier people could lead to a happier, more prosperous nation as a whole.
 A better-educated population could result in smarter decision-making at every level of society,
which could lead to faster progress in solving our most difficult, collective challenges.
 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. As a result, more of them might
graduate on time, ready to take on important jobs in their communities.
 Many of America's top-performing high school students never apply to the most challenging
colleges and universities even though they have the ability to succeed at them. They often
come from minority and low-income households and end up pursuing more affordable, less-
selective schools instead. And that helps create a widening gap between wealthier families and
those that are less affluent.
 Although it benefits many students, the nation's existing financial aid system currently fails to
provide an equal opportunity to every qualified American.
 Graduating with high amounts of student loan debt has been shown to reduce a person's
chances of owning a home, getting married, having children, and accumulating wealth.

Reading 3
WHY COLLEGE SHOULD NOT BE FREE FOR EVERYBODY
Opponents of free college tend to believe that such an idea would simply be too expensive for the federal
and state governments to maintain long-term. As a result, Americans may have to start paying much higher
taxes. And that, they say, could hurt the economy since people might have less to spend or invest.
In addition, countries like the U.S., Canada, South Korea, and Japan have already proven that free higher
education isn't necessary for building some of the world's most educated workforces. And free public
college, by itself, would likely not be enough to promote the big improvements in social mobility that are
needed throughout America. That's especially true when you consider the responsibilities of adult and non-
traditional learners who often have challenges that aren't just strictly financial in nature.
Many opponents of free college are especially against the idea of making community colleges tuition-free.
They point to national statistics indicating that public community colleges are often dead ends for students.
For example, only about 20 percent of first-time, full-time students at public two-year colleges earn
associate's degrees, diplomas, or certificates within three years of starting. And only 15 percent of them go
on to earn bachelor's degrees within six years. (In contrast, 54 percent of students at private, non-profit two-
 year schools—and 63 percent of students at private,
for-profit two-years schools—Graduate within three
years.)3
So making community colleges free could have some
negative consequences for non-traditional students
who often benefit from attending private colleges or
vocational schools. If the U.S. government diverts
more funding toward making community colleges
tuition-free, then students attending private schools
could potentially lose access to federal financial aid
since that might be one of the tradeoffs. They would
then need to decide whether to attend free public
schools that may be a lot more crowded or provide less effective (and less convenient) training.
Here are a few other reasons why some people oppose free college for everyone:

 With more people choosing to attend public colleges because of their tuition-free status, many
schools might have to create wait lists or expand the ones they already have. State budgets could
become strained, which might lead to cuts and decreased access to the programs that students want to
take.
 Public colleges and universities might become less worried about wasteful spending since they won't
have to compete with other schools on cost. And that could strain public budgets even further.
 Many students would still have to borrow money for their living expenses as well as for books and
supplies. So they wouldn't get to leave school completely debt-free.
 Students might take their college education less seriously if they don't have to pay for it. So
graduation numbers might drop, or the people who do graduate might not be as well prepared for the
workforce.
 Students may not learn to become as financially literate or independent as they should be, choosing
instead to stay dependent on government programs whenever possible.
 If a lot more people are able to earn college degrees, then the value of those degrees could decrease.
And that could lead to a rising number of workers who are underemployed based on their
qualifications.