Bailey Cullen

Mrs. Thomas

UWRT 1104

4 November 2018

Should Public Higher Education be Free?

As a child, my mom would always share her story where she had to take a gap year after

high school because she could not afford to go to college. Her family was poor and did not have

the money to pay for college. She had to get a job and work long hours to earn the money for

college. Eventually, she was able to get into UNC Charlotte, however, she is now stuck with Commented [1]: I like this personal anecdote

major debt. However, my dad played soccer, and was able to get scholarship money to help pay

for UNC Charlotte. Some people have been lucky to attend college, while others have not been

so lucky. If college is now an essential requirement, why is it so expensive? If we need college to Commented [2]: could you include a range of
amounts? 8000-50,000/yr ?
get a successful career, why would the government not allow everyone an equal opportunity to Commented [3]: Any stats on the percentage of
people who take out loans? How much?
get a higher education? So, my question is, should public higher education be free?

I can agree with most people that

college tuition should definitely be reduced.

College tuition can range from $5,000 to

$50,000, with $34,740 being the average

cost of college tuition in 2018. Since 2018,

there has been $1.48 trillion in total U.S.

student loan debt and 44.2 million

Americans with student loan debt. The

amount of money people have to pay for for college is ridiculous. The amount of debt people
have to live with is absolutely insane. Which made me wonder, if college could not only be

lowered, but could be completely free.

I discovered that Denmark is an example of a country that provides their citizens with

free college. In fact, they not only get a free public higher education, but they also get paid by the

government to go to college. That's crazy! I would sure love for the U.S. government to pay us to

go to a free college. However, Denmark's tax rate stands at 55 percent, while the U.S. tax rate at

37 percent (“Denmark”). I know that people would love to have a free higher education, but most Commented [4]: key point

people probably won't be willing to change their tax rate any higher than it already is. Since

1985, U.S. college costs have surged by about 500 percent, tuition fees keep rising, causing U.S.

politicians to constantly argue about how much students should actually pay for higher

education. Denmark's free college has presented a couple of negative outcomes, but it mostly

provides positive and beneficial outcomes for the country. Rick Noack, senior writer for The

Washington Post presents the negatives, which are that the for-free culture at Danish universities

encourages students to earn degrees that do not meet the demand of the country’s labor market

and industries that are economically important face a shortage of suitable graduates. Although,

the positives are that the youth unemployment is 11 percent, most Danish graduate without

significant student debt, and there are no negative economic consequences (Noack). I believe
that the U.S. should give free college a chance just like Denmark has been doing for a while

now.

Denmark is not the only place who has experimented with free college. American Commented [5]: nice transition

Behavioral Scientist, a peer-reviewed academic journal writes about Tennessee, Oregon, and

New York and how these large

states are all part of the state-

sponsored free tuition program.

These programs offer a new

approach to improving college

affordability and attainment.

New York’s Excelsior

Scholarship is advertised as

“making college possible” and “helping to alleviate the crushing burden of student debt”. The

Oregon Promise offers eligible students a “state grant that covers most tuition at any Oregon

community college”. And the Tennessee Promise provides a last-dollar grant covering up to the

cost of tuition and fees not covered by the Pell Grant, Tennessee HOPE Scholarship, or the

Tennessee Student Assistance Award (TSAA). This article argues that “by eliminating the cost

of tuition, free tuition programs may encourage college enrollment among at least some

individuals who would not otherwise have enrolled” (2017). It is too early to assess the impact of Commented [6]: I don't think a citation is needed here
as this info is easily found. a date of when these
programs began would help.
free tuition initiatives on educational attainment, but consideration of the case studies in light of

prior research provides clues about potential effects. I believe that it would definitely encourage

more students to go to college and graduate with a degree. Some see free college as beneficial

and convenient, while others have to disagree

affordability of college education. Former President Obama 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. As with any political or financial issue, there are pros and cons to it. Free sounds

great, but not everyone believes free public higher education is the prime solution. Free college Commented [7]: It looks like you have some rally good
sources. Work on building a frame around their ideas
more (TSIS p. 47+) ie. introduce the writer in the
tuition has been an ongoing debate for several years now. Democratic presidential candidates are sentence. ex. Andrew Kelly, senior writer for the New
York Times, writes.....
divided over how much should be done to ease the cost of higher education.Some say we can rather than demolish, take up?

afford free college while others argue free college isn’t actually free. Andrew Kelly, senior writer

for the New York Times, writes against free college, arguing that a national push for tuition-free

college would hassle public budgets even further, leading to shortages rather than increased

access. And because middle and upper-income students will demolish up many of the free public

slots, rationing will hurt those who need access the most (Kelly). Ellen Anderson, guest blogger Commented [8]: A possible solution is putting a
program similar to FAFSA that only allows low income
students to take part in the free public slots.
for College Raptor also argues that 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. She also states that college

might not seem as important, the younger generations would not know how to handle finances, Commented [9]: good point

more people would not go to college, and the money would have to come from taxes (Anderson).

While I agree that free college is not truly free and there will be some negative outcomes that

come with it, I also have to disagree that money would have to come from taxes. Recent studies Commented [10]: support? Consider naming the
studies, being more specific.
from Robert Samuels book, “Why Public Higher Education Should Be Free: How to Decrease

Cost and Increase Quality at American Universities” have shown that college tuition cost is
increasing while the quality of undergraduate education is decreasing. Samuels argues that “once

a system is no longer focused on its central mission, it simultaneously increases its cost and

decreases its quality”. A large portion of tuition money goes toward administrative costs,

research, and non-educational programs. Institutions have been pouring our money into new

facilities and extracurricular

activities while underfunding their

educational programs. If current government

funding to higher education were used more

effectively, public colleges could be tuition

free (Samuels). Free public higher education Commented [11]: Possibly give statistics to help the
reader understand around how much of the school,s
funding is going towards expenses not related to
has some downfalls, but it also has its educational programs.
Commented [12]: good comment
advantages.

Free public higher education can

also be worthwhile and helpful. Ellen Anderson, guest blogger for College Raptors shares not

only the negative outcomes of a free college, but also the positive outcomes. Free college can

allow students more freedom to choose a major they enjoy. Student debt will also no longer

crush the younger generations and allow more lower income students to reach graduation. And it

will allow more people to attend college (Anderson). Katrina vanden Heuvel, a senior writer for

The Washington Post also agrees that we can afford free college. If public college was free,

students would attend school or advanced training, the United States would gain the benefits of a

better educated citizenry and workforce, and the young people, not burdened by debt, could be

more entrepreneurial and more public spirited. College costs have soared at a rate faster than

health-care costs. Since 1980, the cost of living has nearly doubled; health-care costs have
quadrupled, and college tuitions and fees have exploded eight times over. The average college

graduate with loans now leaves college $25,000 in debt. Student loan debt exceeds $1 trillion

and is now greater than credit card debt. And the debts are inescapable. Bankruptcy doesn’t

extinguish them; even Social Security payments can be garnished to repay them. Heuvel states

that “congress should act to ensure loan rates don’t double. But real reform will come only if

students, parents and those who understand how student debt weighs down our recovery join

together to demand it” (Heuvel). The NEA, The National Education Association, shares how just

about everyone agrees that college should be more affordable. Over a century ago, high school

was becoming a necessity, not a luxury; today the same is happening to college. We have made

K-12 education free because it is good for the individual and for society. The same is true for

higher education. College is an essential for building a career and being a full participant in our

democracy as high school once was. We all deserve free quality education. College should be

free, paid for by public dollars and treated as a right of all members of our country. The NEA

argue that “we can make this happen but only if we, faculty, staff, and K-12 teachers, too, stand

together with students and parents and demand that public higher education is a right for

everyone, and not a privilege for the few” (Page). I agree that college has now become more of a

requirement in today’s world. College is all any teacher or parent can ever talk about. It’s

expected for students to go to college and get a degree, so they can get a successful career. Most

jobs today require people to have a college degree. It’s unfair for others who do not get the same

opportunity and are forced to work the lower pay and less successful jobs. So why not make

college free too?

Throughout my childhood, my parents and teachers would always talk about college and

how important it is for me to go. College is not for everyone, but it should be available for
anyone. I have discovered that everyone would

love for public higher education to be free. But, is

it realistic? Most can agree that college tuition

should definitely be lowered, but not everyone can

agree on college tuition being free. Some believe

its achievable, while others believe its impossible.

College has become a required necessity, so

people can obtain a successful career and possess

a successful life. We all deserve the opportunity to get a better education and a better lifestyle.

Free college might bring in some disadvantages, but for the most part, I believe that free college

would be very effective and promising.

Anderson, Ellen. “Pros and Cons of Tuition-Free College.” College Raptor Blog, 23 Oct. 2018,

www.collegeraptor.com/find-colleges/articles/affordability-college-cost/pros-cons-

tuition-free-college/.

“Denmark Personal Income Tax Rate 1995-2018 | Data | Chart | Calendar.” Denmark Personal

Income Tax Rate | 1995-2018 | Data | Chart | Calendar,

tradingeconomics.com/denmark/personal-income-tax-rate.

Heuvel, Katrina vanden. “Free College? We Can Afford It.” The Washington Post, WP

Company, 1 May 2012, www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/free-college-we-can-afford-

it/2012/05/01/gIQAeFeltT_story.html?utm_term=.5fbf87edfdbc.

Kelly, Andrew P. “Should College Be Free?” The New York Times, The New York

Times, 20 Jan. 2016, www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2016/01/20/should-college-be-

free/the-problem-is-that-free-college-isnt-free.

Noack, Rick. “Why Danish Students Are Paid to Go to College.” The Washington Post,

WP Company, 4 Feb. 2015,

www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/02/04/why-danish-students-are-

paid-to-go-to-college/?utm_term=.16a055b4cc5e.

Page, Max, and Dan, Clawson. “It's Time to Push for Free College.” NEA,

www.nea.org/home/62740.htm.

Perna, Laura W., et al. “‘Free College:’ A New and Improved State Approach to

Increasing Educational Attainment?” American Behavioral Scientist, vol. 61, no. 14,

2017, pp. 1740–1756., doi:10.1177/0002764217744821.

and Increase Quality at American Universities. Rutgers University Press, 2013.