A Progressive Framework for Free College

Introduction

Since 2015, when President Barack Obama raised the notion of free community college in his State of the Union address, the idea of “free college” has assumed an important place in the world of big and bold new policy ideas. Though the idea has become particularly associated with the progressive policy agenda, enthusiasm for free college is not necessarily ideological: One of the most well-known free college programs, the Tennessee Promise, was enacted by a Republican legislature and signed by a Republican governor, and in the past, free college was the norm in many states regardless of political control. Nevertheless, the phrase “free college” is actually an umbrella for a variety of different policies with very different terms. The particular terms matter quite a bit, and they can make the difference between a free college plan that upholds progressive values and one that does not.

When governments work to implement free college, there are all kinds of considerations that can affect the shape of the plan, from addressing budgetary concerns to satisfying political constituencies, ensuring sustainability or attaining certain educational outcomes for students. Free college can further progressive values like reducing wealth inequality, eliminating racial disparities, supporting democracy, and building a more inclusive economy. But the way that policymakers address these considerations can determine whether a free college program reinforces those values or undermines them.

If there is an opportunity to push a free college proposal at the federal level, policymakers and advocates must be equipped with a solid understanding of how the values and outcomes they wish to achieve would be driven—or thwarted—through certain design choices. Political realities and fiscal concerns will inevitably influence the debate about free college. But by grounding themselves in a clear framework, policymakers can ensure that those factors influence a free college plan without compromising its core purpose.

If there is an opportunity to push a free college proposal at the federal level, policymakers and advocates must be equipped with a solid understanding of how the values and outcomes they wish to achieve would be driven—or thwarted— through certain design choices.

To help facilitate a debate about free college that is grounded in values, this report examines how the design choices made in existing free college programs have affected the outcomes and values they promote, and it offers a framework for how a federal free college plan could uphold progressive values. Section one provides some context for the discussion by offering four important observations about the state of higher education in the United States. Section two outlines the basic questions that must be answered in order to construct a free college plan. Section three offers examples of how some states and countries have answered these questions and how those answers have affected the shape and outcomes of their higher education systems. Section four proposes a progressive framework for shaping a federal free college proposal. Progressive policymakers may disagree about how to prioritize the principles laid out in section four, but anyone building a free college plan must engage directly with all of them.

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