Free College and the Problem of College Readiness

In this article, Jackson Toby discusses President Biden's proposal for free community college and substantial subsidies at public four-year colleges. Toby points out that if Biden means to require the beneficiaries to demonstrate that they have enough aptitude to graduate if they choose to stud...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inAcademic questions Vol. 34; no. 3; pp. 105 - 108
Main Author Toby, Jackson
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published National Association of Scholars 01.09.2021
Subjects
Academic Aptitude
Access to Education
College Readiness
Community Colleges
Public Colleges
Student Financial Aid
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:In this article, Jackson Toby discusses President Biden's proposal for free community college and substantial subsidies at public four-year colleges. Toby points out that if Biden means to require the beneficiaries to demonstrate that they have enough aptitude to graduate if they choose to study, the idea would be in the tradition of Thomas Jefferson's 1817 plan for selecting students of "genius" for scholarship admission to the University of Virginia. But President Biden has never mentioned college readiness to accompany financial aid for college students. Toby continues that if Biden means to make college available for free without vetting student beneficiaries for college readiness, he is underestimating the educational problem underprepared students would impose. He concludes by asking: If college applicants' SAT scores, or even their classroom GPAs, reveal that they have little chance of graduating from college, will President Biden be willing to screen them out of a free college program?
ISSN:0895-4852
DOI:10.51845/34.3.16