Free college, the best version

Tennessee and Chicago aren’t just giving handouts to the affluent. View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Tuesday, May 7, 2019 [NYTimes.com/David-Leonhardt »]( [Op-Ed Columnist] Op-Ed Columnist The version of “free college” that I find most promising is free community college. Eliminating tuition at two-year colleges would send a message that Americans are supposed to continue their education beyond high school. It would also avoid a major weakness of the free four-year college plans that some Democrats are now pushing — namely, giving [a big handout]( to upper-middle-class families, most of whom don’t send their children to community colleges. [Several places]( around the country have started free community-college programs, the most prominent being Tennessee (under a Republican governor) and Chicago (under a Democratic mayor). Yesterday, that mayor — Rahm Emanuel, who leaves office later this month — [announced]( he was expanding the program to graduates of 12 Catholic high schools; it had previously applied only to public-school graduates. It’s a good move, because Catholic schools have long helped launch working-class Americans, and not just Catholics, into the middle class. “Twelfth grade can’t be the norm,” Emanuel told me. “You’ve got to change the goal line. K through high school was the 20th century. Pre-K to college is the 21st century.” Still, I have one big worry about free community-college programs, and I wanted to use the latest news as a reason to look at how well Chicago and Tennessee have been dealing with it. The answer is mostly encouraging. More clarity, more grads Community colleges can be inspiring places. They’re often filled with people who are trying to overcome big challenges — including lower-income students, war veterans, laid-off workers, students with disabilities and victims of domestic abuse. Unfortunately, the colleges also tend to be starved of resources, as [Richard Kahlenberg]( of the Century Foundation has pointed out. Many have [shockingly low graduation rates](. My worry about free community-college programs is that they will lead more students to enroll but not necessarily graduate. The programs could potentially even lead to a drop in the total number of college graduates, if students began choosing community colleges over four-year colleges but then failed to finish. So I asked officials in both Chicago and Tennessee what’s happened to their enrollment and graduation numbers since starting their programs. The first piece of good news is that, as intended, enrollment has risen. More than 64 percent of Chicago’s public high-school graduates enroll in a college — for two- or four-year degrees — up from 54 percent in 2010, before the program started. In Tennessee, the share of high-school graduates going to college [jumped]( to 64 percent in 2015, the first year of its program, from 58 percent the previous year. It has since remained between 63 percent and 64 percent. These increases are notable, because even before these programs began, federal financial aid [covered]( community-college tuition for many students, as Sandy Baum of the Urban Institute ([a skeptic]( of free tuition) often points out. “Could a low-income student have gone to community college tuition-free before?” [Mike Krause]( who runs the Tennessee Higher Education Commission, said to me. “Absolutely. But they didn’t know that.” He added: “We have managed to bring clarity to a message that was in the past very complicated.” The second piece of good news is that graduation numbers have also risen. They’ve done so because both Tennessee and Chicago have paired free tuition with a new push to reduce dropout rates. Tennessee has signed up 9,000 volunteer mentors per year to work with students, Krause said, and to qualify for free tuition, students must take a full load of classes. Chicago has also taken steps to help students stay in school and graduate. The results: In Tennessee, the three-year community-college graduation rate has risen to 23 percent from 14 percent. In Chicago, the graduation rate has risen to 24 percent from 11 percent. Many more Chicago community-college students are also transferring to four-year colleges. Obviously, those graduation rates remain far too low. There is still a lot of work to do, including better funding for the colleges and more accountability for those that don’t reduce their dropout rates. And free tuition still doesn’t cover most living expenses, like food and lodging. But on the most basic question of whether the programs in Tennessee and Chicago are working, I’d say the answer is yes. ADVERTISEMENT If you enjoy this newsletter, forward it to friends! They can [sign up for themselves here]( — and they don’t need to be a Times subscriber. The newsletter is published every weekday, with help from my colleague Ian Prasad Philbrick. David’s Morning NYT Read [Xi Jinping Wanted Global Dominance. He Overshot.]( By YI-ZHENG LIAN China wasn’t ready for the trade war with the United States. The Full Opinion Report [Trump Helps Bigots Go Viral]( By MICHELLE GOLDBERG As Facebook tries to ban extremists, the president amplifies them. [The One-Income Trap]( By ROSS DOUTHAT How Elizabeth Warren inspired a conservative policy debate. [The Difference Between Happiness and Joy]( By DAVID BROOKS Staying vulnerable in an age of cruelty. [Is This the Audition for ‘Game of Thrones’?]( By GAIL COLLINS AND BRET STEPHENS Not exactly. But there is an audience of one watching every word. [Let Robert Mueller Testify]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD Enough with William Barr’s obfuscation. [Macron Puts Germany on Trial]( By SYLVIE KAUFFMANN Cooperation between Paris and Berlin has long been a requirement for a unified Europe. But now they are at odds on fundamental policies. [Trump Is Confused About Social Media. He’s Not Alone.]( By KARA SWISHER The First Amendment doesn’t say you can tweet whatever you want. [We Are Taking Religious Freedom Too Far]( By MARGARET RENKL We have a right to practice our beliefs, but we don’t have the right to discriminate against others, or endanger their lives. [The Legislation That Targets the Racist Impacts of Tech]( By MARGOT E. KAMINSKI AND ANDREW D. SELBST A proposed law would make big companies determine whether their algorithms discriminate, but it’s lacking in some big ways. [Meghan Markle Is the Duchess the Royal Family Needs]( By TANYA GOLD The British monarchy has always gathered fresh power when it is useful. The new baby will gild the myth. [A Tax That Could Fix Big Tech]( By PAUL ROMER Putting a levy on targeted ad revenue would give Facebook and Google a real incentive to change their dangerous business models. [Why I Am Voting for South Africa’s Ramaphosa]( By MARK GEVISSER The country’s president needs a strong mandate to execute his reforms and to keep his corrupt colleagues in the African National Congress at bay. [‘Her Royal Highness and the Baby Are Both Doing Well’]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD Harry and Meghan welcomed a baby boy at Frogmore Cottage. [Going From ‘Hello’ to ‘Bonjour’: The Path to Another Language]( Readers cite help with mastering a language: music, cultural considerations and TV subtitles. ADVERTISEMENT FEEDBACK and HELP If you have thoughts about this newsletter, email me at [leonhardt@nytimes.com](mailto:leonhardt@nytimes.com?subject=David%20Leonhardt%20Newsletter%20Feedback). If you have questions about your Times account, delivery problems or other non-journalistic issues, you can visit our [Help Page]( or [contact The Times](. FOLLOW OPINION [Facebook] [FACEBOOK]( [Twitter] [@nytopinion]( [Pinterest] [Pinterest]( Get more [NYTimes.com newsletters »](  | Get unlimited access to NYTimes.com and our NYTimes apps. [Subscribe »]( ABOUT THIS EMAIL You received this message because you signed up for NYTimes.com's Opinion Today newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Manage Subscriptions]( | [Change Your Email]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Contact]( | [Advertise]( Copyright 2019 The New York Times Company 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018