Statement of Academics in Support of Free Higher Education

What if education were available, for all students meeting admissions criteria, as a right, without tuition at any public college in the United States? A college education is increasingly a prerequisite for opportunities for effective labor force participation. Yet, paying for higher education is one of the greatest financial burdens that face most people in this country. Shouldn't the society, therefore, have an obligation to provide universal access to pursuit of such an essential social good?

Increasingly, college attendance for all except the wealthy has become contingent on qualification for interest-carrying student loans. This filters out many potential students who either cannot afford the encumbrance of loan-indebtedness or cannot qualify for loans. Many students are prevented from completing degree programs because they exhaust the sums for which they qualify before satisfying their requirements. Still more take much longer to complete their courses of study than they would otherwise because they have to take off time to work to pay for tuition and other expenses not covered by loans. Many of those who are able to complete their education begin their work lives burdened by a massive debt that affects their career decisions and life choices for years to come.

We believe that the prohibitive cost of education severely limits democratic participation in economic and political processes in the U.S and results in a tragic loss of diverse human potential.

The goal of universal access to higher education is neither pie-in-the-sky nor even entirely unprecedented in recent American history. The most dramatic example of this goal in the United States was the G. I. Bill of Rights, under which a generation of World War II veterans received what was usually full tuition support and stipends to attend post-secondary educational institutions. A 1988 report by a congressional subcommittee on education and health estimated that 40 per cent of those who attended college under the G. I. Bill would not otherwise have done so. That report also found that each dollar spent educating that 40 per cent alone produced a $6.90 return (more than $267 billion in 1994 dollars) in national output due to extra education and increased Federal tax revenues from the extra income the beneficiaries earned.

The G.I. Bill had positive ramifications for the country as a whole. Not only did the direct beneficiaries realize increased income, occupational and employment opportunities and personal growth; these benefits also made for greater opportunities for their children and families. The expansion in enrollments in the postwar era also fueled expansion of colleges and universities, which in turn stimulated construction and other employment opportunities including faculties and staff and support services. It also dramatically democratized college and university life, in composition of student bodies and faculties, and in expanding the intellectual life of the university.

Similarly, the free tuition policy in effect in the City University of New York system until the 1970s also brought higher education within reach for tens of thousands of people for whom it would otherwise have been no more than an unattainable dream. In addition to the impressively lengthy roster of prominent public officials, academics and others who took advantage of that access, exponentially more people were able to translate that access into more secure and rewarding jobs and lives than would otherwise have been attainable.

The ways that the world and the economy have changed in the last three decades make higher education more important now than ever before. Just as universal access to high school education is a basic social right, we believe that the federal government should guarantee all academically qualifying students access to post-secondary education as a vital social good. In 1944, the G.I. Bill provided access to all post-secondary institutions for all qualifying veterans. We believe that it is time to begin the debate for our right to access to higher education.

In 1996 tuition revenues at all two-year and four-year degree awarding public educational institutions totaled just over $23 billion, a sum equivalent to only 2 per cent of the Federal budget for that year. Even if increased access were to double attendance, the cost would still be easily manageable. Is it economically and morally justifiable to deny access to higher education to millions of people in this country today?

We, the undersigned, say no, and call for the government to assume responsibility for payment of all tuition and fees for all students enrolled at all public, post-secondary degree-awarding educational institutions.

We invite you to sign on to the Statement for Free Higher Education

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Pass a resolution in support of Free Higher Education at your local union or academic association