Tuition-Free College

Elizabeth Warren supports efforts to make college more affordable. Warren believes we should treat higher education like our public school system – free and accessible to all Americans. Elizabeth Warren is calling for something truly transformational – the cancellation of up to $50,000 in student loan debt for 42 million Americans and free universal college for everyone.Elizabeth Warren supports efforts to make college more affordable. Warren believes we should treat higher education like our public school system – free and accessible to all Americans. Elizabeth Warren is calling for something truly transformational – the cancellation of up to $50,000 in student loan debt for 42 million Americans and free universal college for everyone. The cost of college deters people from attending college. In 2017 Warren backed a bill that would have eliminated tuition for many students attending public colleges. Warren’s proposal goes beyond debt forgiveness, addressing the entire system of college affordability with the aim of eliminating the need for Americans to take on student debt in the future. Elizabeth Warren says we need to fundamentally change the broken system that created the crisis. To accomplish this systemic overhaul, Warren proposes eliminating tuition and fees at all two-year and four-year public universities through a federal partnership with states to “split the costs of tuition and fees and ensure that states maintain their current levels of funding on need-based financial aid and academic instruction.” Should this policy be enacted, students would be able to attend in-state programs without paying tuition and fees, similar to the American K-12 education system. She also argues that eliminating tuition and fees at public institutions would help increase graduation rates, especially among low-income students. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, just 40 percent of first-time full-time students earn a bachelor’s degree in four years, and only 59 percent earn their bachelor’s in six years. With more than half of students struggling to graduate in four years, most students are forced to take — and pay for — extra years of college. Warren’s plan includes eliminating some student debt for 95% of borrowers and eliminating all student debt for 75% of borrowers. Under Warren’s plan, for every $3 a person earns over $100,000, the amount of debt cancelled would decrease by $1.
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