Nowadays, attaining a career that ensures comfortable living typically requires a college degree.
As of fall 2017, tuition at public colleges in New York State has been made free through the support of the Excelsior Scholarship. As an undergraduate at a SUNY, I was excited for this benefit, as I knew it would help many students avoid the burden of student loans. However, I have noticed that a handful of people are still unhappy about the decision. The arguments I have heard made against free tuition have prompted me to elaborate on why free tuition is a necessity, as well as a basic human right.
Currently, free tuition is offered to those who: are enrolled in at least 12 credits a semester and successfully complete 30 credits over the academic year; have resided in NYS for 12 consecutive months prior to the start of the term they will be receiving the aid; received a high school diploma or the equivalency of; plan to stay in NYS and work for the amount of years they received the award, and have a family income of $100,000 a year or less. (hesc.ny.gov) These criteria demonstrate that as of right now, thanks to the introduction of this program, free tuition is easily accessible for those who truly need it. It also expands on the concept that free tuition is not novel.
Free tuition has existed across the country for grades K-12. The option of public school gives all children an equal opportunity to receive an education regardless of their family’s income. Even if a family decides to send their child to a private school, they are still given the same option to send their kid to a tuition-free school. Society benefits when its citizens are educated, and making education available to all people drastically improves our economy, as well as reinforces our democracy. (prospect.org)
Since 1978, the cost of attending a four-year college has increased by 1,122 percent. (prospect.org) In relation to this, student debt has become the biggest form of personal debt in the United States. “Today, student loan debt increases inequality and makes it harder for low-income graduates, particularly those of color, to buy a house, open a business, and start a family,” Minnesota’s Fifth Congressional District Representative, Keith Ellison, writes. “If the nation can provide hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies to the oil and gas industry and billions of dollars more to Wall Street, we can afford to pay for public higher education.” (prospect.org)
Our nation has created a surplus of underperforming college graduates due to the notion that they are still in thousands of dollars of debt whether they earn a 4.0 or 2.0 GPA in school. Promising free college tuition to those who work hard creates a different atmosphere amongst campuses and motivates students to prioritize their studies. (thebernreport.com) Ultimately, universal programs create stronger platforms for society and promote the advantage of higher education.
Free tuition should be an option for all people, at all schools alike. Receiving an education past high school for a few years should not take decades to pay off. New York State is the first state in the nation to implement this program and has already made it possible for many people to continue their path towards their future. Attending college should not be a way for universities to profit off of their students, but for students to profit off of their studies.
