Public College Should Be Free

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Recommended: Inequality in education

Four-Year public College Should Be Free
Zamzam Albulushi
Ohio University

Today, in order to meet the demands of a growing global economy, Americans need more experience and ability (Kelly, 2011). To enhance the skills of Americans, the colleges decide to raise tuition fees for college students in public colleges. In that case, the college students are forced to pay exorbitant tuition fees for four years, and in order to help them the government allocates grants as a way to improve college students’ income. However, this approach has raised controversy many college students, parents, and make them considered that was the wrong solution. After college students complete their four-year degree, they leave the university with significant debts. In general, four-year higher education should be free to everyone.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics (2013), the number of undergraduate college students who enrolled in four year college studies has increased to 10,5 million in 2011 than 6,7 million in 1990. Due that increase, many universities became more crowds with large number of students. The U. S. Department of Education (2014b) found that in 2011-2012 the average tuition rose to $14,300 at public institutions for fees, room, and board. As a result, “higher education turned into a much bigger financial gamble” (Weismann, 2013, para. 9). This is true because most college students cannot afford the high tuition fees for their education, even though they strongly desire to attend university.
First of all, free public colleges enhance academic and career opportunities in the future. Unemployment is a growing issue in the US. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (2014a), the...

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...aduation rates (N=680 4-year colleges and universities) : Selected years, NSSE 2005 and 2004. In U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (Ed.), what matters to student success (2013 ed.). Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/npec/pdf/kuh_team_report.pdf
Weismann, J. (2013). How Washington Could Make College Tuition Free (Without Spending a Penny More on Education). The Atlantic. Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/03/how-washington-could-make-college-tuition-free-without-spending-a-penny-more-on-education/273801/
White House, (2015, January 9). Fact sheet - White House unveils America’s college promise proposal: Tuition-Free community college for responsible students. Retrieved from https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/01/09/fact-sheet-white-house-unveils-america-s-college-promise-proposal-tuitio

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