President Biden recently unveiled his plan to spend $109 billion over 10 years to make community college tuition-free. Biden also wants to increase the maximum Pell grant to $8,295 for the 2021-22 school year. The President’s proposals would certainly ease the financial strains of attending public community colleges, especially for low-income students who are most likely to qualify for the maximum Pell grants.
Under the current financial aid system, low-income community college students spend less than $100 a month for community college tuition and fees, on average. Many pay nothing, as in California - home to around a fifth of the country’s community college students. Tuition and fees are actually a relatively minor expense for most community college students, given that close to 50% of students at 2-year institutions received enough financial aid and grant money to cover tuition and fees. It’s all those other expenses that crush the student spirit: books, supplies, housing, food and transportation. No wonder a bit over half of students attending public two-year colleges full-time live with their parents.
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Eliminating community college tuition and upping Pell grants would initially cost the feds around $13 billion a year, give or take. Would it be money well-spent? The answer depends on whether the policy goals are worth pursuing and, if so, whether there are better ways to achieve the same ends.
So what are the policy goals? To simplify: reduce financial hardship for students, boost college persistence and completion rates, and increase social mobility. These all sound good to me. But I have some issues with Biden’s proposals, including:
On average, about 5% of two-year degrees are granted by four-year universities. Shouldn’t tuition for these two-year degree students be free, too?
Why should community college students get special treatment over freshmen and sophomores at four-year colleges?
Free tuition at community colleges would likely encourage more students to attend community colleges instead of going straight to four-year colleges and universities. This could negatively impact the long-term learning and career trajectories of some students who would have otherwise gone straight to a four-year institution.
Pell grants are usually awarded only to undergraduate students. However, many college graduates lack in-demand job skills and would benefit from further training and education.
Adult learning for social mobility has become a lifelong endeavor. Older adults often cannot attend school full-time because of family and work obligations. However, Pell grants are smaller for part-time students. Increasing the maximum Pell grant doesn’t help part-time students.
Adult schools and vocational training programs are better than community colleges for some students, especially those with limited English or weak basic skills. These schools boost earning potential and help some students become college-ready. There are millions of students at these schools, many of whom are low-income and have dim job prospects without further skill-building. Biden’s approach doesn’t address their needs.
Over 100 million US adults lack proficiency in literacy, reading below the equivalent of a sixth-grade level. Without extensive remediation in basic skills, many of these individuals would do poorly in community colleges. Simply making community colleges tuition-free will not help them - it could even hurt some by enticing them to try college before they’re ready. Adult school is often a better fit for these individuals than college English (and math) classes. Unfortunately, Pell grants aren’t available for remedial or ESL classes unless they are part of an approved vocational or college program. That’s a shame, because literacy improvement alone is associated with higher wages and social mobility.
Pell grants are awarded on basis of financial need, so getting a job would likely reduce one’s award. However, the research is clear that working up to 15 hours a week typically benefits college students. For instance, working part-time can aid in the development of ”soft skills such as interpersonal, organizational, or time management skills [as well as] help students build social capital as they form networks of professional mentors and other contacts who may assist them later in their careers” (Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, 2018).
Most community college students in California do not pay tuition and yet, per a 2020 headline in the Community College Review, “70% of California Community College Students Fail”. One problem with free tuition at community colleges is that it sometimes leads to crowded classes, overwhelming the capacity of teachers and counselors to give more time to struggling students.
So what would be better than Biden’s tuition-free community colleges and bigger Pell grants? An Adult Student Basic Income (ASBI), which would provide $1000/month up to six years total for adults enrolled at least part-time in postsecondary training and education programs, such as:
College Classes
Adult Education
ESL Classes
GED/HS Diploma Programs
Job Readiness Training
Vocational Training
Online Classes
Modular Courses
On-The-Job Training
Internships (Paid or Unpaid)
Apprenticeships
The advantage of the ASBI over Biden’s proposals is that it’s more flexible and would benefit more people. Since the ASBI would not be means-tested, adult students could work as little or as much as optimal for their situation. The ASBI would thus be less likely to impose economic hardship on recipients and more likely to encourage skill building across adulthood. It would also encourage creative approaches to skill upgrading, such as mixing remedial coursework with part-time internships. After all, college is not for everyone nor is it the only path to upward mobility.
For more details on the ASBI, see The Beauty of an Adult School Basic Income and The Bold Centrist: Here's How the US could fund an Adult Student Basic Income on Less than $2 a Day per Capita in New Taxes.
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References and Links
“50-State Comparison: Need- and Merit-Based Financial Aid” Education Commission of the States
“Affording the Dream: Student Debt and State Need-Based Aid for Low-Income Public University Students”. Eaton, Charlie, Sheisha Kulkarni, Robert Birgeneau, Henry Brady, and Michael Hout (2017) Stanford University, UC Berkeley, New York University. Center for Studies in Higher Education (CSHE) Research & Occasional Paper Series. No. 4.17. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/24j8945b
“Average Cost of Community College” educationdata.org
“Community College FAQs Community College Research Center, Teachers College, Columbia University
“Low Literacy Levels Among U.S. Adults Could Be Costing The Economy $2.2 Trillion A Year” by Michael T. Nietzel/ Forbes. September 9, 2020.
“New Study: 70% of California Community College Students Fail” Community College Review
“Skills Matter: Further Results from the Survey of Adult Skills” OECD Skills Studies, 2016
“The Biden Plan for Free Community College Has a Big Challenge” by Kevin Carey/New York Times April 28, 2021.
“Trends in College Pricing and Student Aid, 2020” College Board