Free college tuition? More U.S. communities say yes

• Local tuition-free initiatives grow
• College in U.S. feels more out of reach
• Trump threatening to close federal Education Department

WASHINGTON - Braxton Simpson had finally made it to college when her brother decided that he also wanted to attend.

"My parents couldn't afford to pay for both of us," said Simpson, now 26. "I didn't have any money. I had been in college for a year, and all of my scholarships were exhausted."

The siblings both eventually graduated, but the challenge led Simpson to her current work organising students in North Carolina around college affordability.

She and her colleagues at Rise, a national non-profit, do not just want to increase assistance or reduce tuition – they want to do away with it altogether.

"Our ultimate goal has always been to make college free, especially for students that otherwise wouldn't have an opportunity for that type of education," she told Context.

With President Donald Trump's administration raising college affordability concerns and promoting anti-diversity efforts, Braxton said the issue is critical.

"Students are already seeing divestment from their multicultural spaces, a lack of funds for programming for Black and Hispanic students," she said.

"The prospect that (affordability) is something the next administration won't be focused on as much has a lot of people concerned."

Student borrowing has tripled since 1993 as tuition costs have risen by 114%, according to research last year from the Brookings Institution, although some costs have been offset by increased aid and tax breaks.

More recently, inflation and cost-of-living increases have made college feel more out of reach, according to a 2023 survey of young people.

The Republican presidential campaign platform pledged to "make colleges and universities sane and affordable again."

But no plan has emerged from the Trump administration, and the president has sought to close the U.S. Department of Education, calling it a "big con job," in a move that could disrupt tuition assistance.

The White House and Department of Education did not respond to requests for comment.

Tuition-free initiatives

There is precedent for making tuition free, and backers say interest is rising.

In what are often known as "promise" programmes, 34 U.S. states have some sort of tuition-free initiative.

This provides access for more than 60% of the U.S. population, whether to a community college, four-year university or adult education, said Ryan Morgan, CEO of the Campaign for Free College Tuition, an advocacy group.

"We've seen incredible progress," he said.

Local economic and workforce development are motivating factors, particularly in growing sectors such as health care and information technology that require additional schooling, Morgan and others said.

Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York and other states have recently announced tuition-free initiatives, as have private universities such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Minnesota's North Star Promise allows residents whose families make less than $80,000 a year to attend a state college for free.

"For many low-income Minnesotans, college was just something that wasn't on the table based on finances," said Keith Hovis, communications director for the Minnesota Office of Higher Education.

So far more than 14,500 students have benefited, with awards averaging nearly $2,000.

The business community supports the initiative, but ensuring the local economic impact remains a question, said Lauryn Schothorst, a Minnesota Chamber of

Commerce director in charge of workforce development policy.

She has urged lawmakers to incorporate "a work-in-Minnesota requirement."

Backers say hyper-local free-tuition programmes offer a potent solution.

"It's a dual benefit, a private and public good," said Michelle Miller-Adams, a researcher with the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.

"It has an individual impact on students and families.... But if you do that in a given place, it also brings benefits to that place."

One of the first tuition-free programmes, in Kalamazoo, Michigan, got underway 20 years ago and has assisted more than 8,700 students.

Today there are at least 130 such programmes, and another 100 community college initiatives, according to Upjohn tracking.

Still, it can be difficult to gauge the economic impact, and some question their effects.

"These proposals are premised on the idea that there are particular fields that are in need of higher-skilled workers," said Ryan Yonk, an economist with the American Institute for Economic Research, a free-market think tank.

"The major issue with this is the reality that generalized free tuition is unlikely to target those fields," he said, adding that free tuition "is unlikely to be either a practical or effective policy".

Local promise

Columbus, Ohio began a free-tuition pilot in 2021, allowing public school students to enrol at the local community college, and the city council recently extended it for six years.

"Three years ago we went to the community and asked them to invest. Now we have proof of concept," said Shannon Hardin, president of the Columbus City Council.

College attendance by students from Columbus city schools has risen from to 50% from 32%, Hardin said.

In Texas, the Austin Community College system last year began a tuition-free initiative, hoping to address some area college attendance rates right out of high school that are below 40%, and a local umbrella group is seeking to broaden the effort countywide.

"Austin has been attracting these big businesses to town and then bringing the talent in, but we're leaving behind our own kids," said Stacey Oliver, who heads the Austin 2030 Network spearheading the work.

"We think that there's never been more need for the work we're doing."

(Reporting by Carey L. Biron; Editing by Anastasia Moloney and Ellen Wulfhorst)