Tennessee Just Became The First State To Make Community College Free For All Students
Tennessee Just Became The First State To Make Community College Free For All Students
The State of Tennessee is making two-year community college programs free for all students! Find out more here!
The State of Tennessee is making two-year community college programs free for all students! Find out more here!
Tennessee has just become the first state to make two-year community college programs free to all of the state's students. Two years ago, it already made community college tuition-free for all recent high school graduates, but now, the Tennessee Promise program is expanding to include new students of all ages who don't already have an associate's or bachelor's degree. It is Governor Bill Haslam's hope that the program will raise the percentage of Tennessee college graduates to 55% by 2025 from its current percentage of just under 39%.
If we want to have jobs ready for Tennesseans, we have to make sure that Tennesseans are ready for jobs, and there is no smarter investment than increasing access to high-quality education.
Bill Haslam
CNN Money, May 11, 2017
More than 33,000 students have already benefited from the Tennessee Promise program, raising first-time freshman enrollment rates by 30% in the first two years of the program's existence. The expanded program will cost around $10 million but will be fully funded by the state lottery, just as the program currently is. All students need to do to be eligible for the program is:
- Be a Tennessee resident for at least one year
- Maintain a 2.0 GPA
- Be at least a part-time student
- Complete the FAFSA
But now, we'd like to know:
Do you think community college should be free to all students?
Do you think community college should be free to all students?