Tuition-Free Public College Education Is Possible. Demand It.

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2014/01/18-5



Banner hung by students at Cooper Union College after it was announced tuition would be demanded for the first time in the school's history.

Tuition-Free Public College Education Is Possible. Demand It.
by Richard Long
Published on Saturday, January 18, 2014 by Campaign for America's Future Blog

Here’s a news flash for you that’s neither news nor flash: The majority of college graduates are coming out of school with student loan debt. Today, nearly 70 percent of college graduates come out of school saddled with an average debt of $29,400. Check out this map to see student debt numbers in your state (except North Dakota and Hawaii).

Here’s a news flash you probably didn’t know: It would cost less for the government to make all public universities tuition-free than what the government already spends in higher education.

True story.

That’s one reason why as of midday Friday close to 30,000 people had already signed a petition launched by Jeff Bryant, the editor of the Education Opportunity Network website and newsletter, calling for President Obama and Congress to “create a plan to make public college tuition-free.”

Here’s why that makes sense. Today, the government spends $69 billion a year on student aid for the neediest students. According to the New America Foundation, around $36 billion is spent on higher education grants (like the Pell Grant program), $32 billion of potential revenue is lost through tax credits, exemptions and deductions, and around $1 billion dollars is spent on federal work-study programs. The cost of all public universities? $62.6 billion. That is a $6.4 billion difference between what America spends to help its neediest students and the cost of all public colleges combined.