New study finds that free community college doesn’t necessarily increase degree attainment
The study investigated two “free community college” programs in Pennsylvania.
Support for initiatives to make community college free has grown in recent years, but new analysis suggests that such reforms may fail to achieve their intended goals.
A new study from the Annenberg Institute at Brown University found that so-called “last-dollar tuition guarantee programs” for two-year community colleges do not meaningfully increase the number of enrolled students.
Study authors David B. Monaghan and Elizabeth A. Hawke investigated the impact of two Pennsylvania programs that fully cover the cost of community college, the Community College of Philadelphia’s 50th Anniversary Scholars program (CCPAS) and the Morgan Success Scholarship (MSS).
Monaghan and Hawke stated in the study’s abstract that they found little to no evidence that CCPAS “has any impact on college-going behavior.”
Conversely, they found that MSS increased community college enrollment, but much of this increase was because the program temporarily “diverts students away from four-year colleges.”
[RELATED: Massachusetts budget offering universal community college signed into law]
According to the study, pre-existing research indicates that this trend may decrease overall educational attainment. Monaghan and Hawke noted that “a large body of research suggests that, among bachelor’s intending students, enrolling directly in a community college dramatically lowers one’s chances of earning a bachelor’s degree.”
The study comes in the wake of several Democrats’ proposals to make community college free on a wider scale. In the proposed budget for FY 2025, President Biden set aside $82 billion for the Education Department, which included funding for several new partnerships with states and Native American tribes to fully subsidize the cost of community college for select students.
“I also want to make community college tuition-free so you don’t need loans at all,” he stated, according to CNBC.
The Biden Administration has spent billions on student loans since 2021. Most recently, the Administration enacted a $1.2 billion debt forgiveness plan for over 35,000 government workers. Biden also hinted at a larger plan that would cancel student debt for more than 30 million loan holders.
“From day one of my Administration, I promised to fight to ensure higher education is a ticket to the middle class, not a barrier to opportunity,” Biden said. “I will never stop working to make higher education affordable – no matter how many times Republican elected officials try to stop us.”
Campus Reform has reached out to Brown University and the Annenberg Institute for comment. This story will be updated accordingly.