Governor’s promise of free college gets positive feedback

By Tessa Roy
Posted 1/17/17

Rhode Island students could get a significant financial boost under a “historic” proposal from Governor Gina M. Raimondo.

The plan, dubbed “Rhode Island’s Promise,” would guarantee two …

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Governor’s promise of free college gets positive feedback

Posted

Rhode Island students could get a significant financial boost under a “historic” proposal from Governor Gina M. Raimondo.

The plan, dubbed “Rhode Island’s Promise,” would guarantee two years of free college for every Rhode Island student who graduates on time from the Community College of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College and the University of Rhode Island. The plan would begin with high school seniors graduating this spring.

“Rhode Island’s Promise honors our commitment to Rhode Island students who are asking for nothing more than a fair chance,” Governor Raimondo said during her announcement at the Ministers Alliance of Rhode Island’s 34th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Breakfast at Rhodes on the Pawtuxet in Cranston. She added that most jobs now require some type of degree or certification.

“When I was my children’s age, most jobs in Rhode Island required nothing more than a high school degree. But for all of our kids, that’s not the case anymore,” she said.

The plan covers the entire cost of tuition and mandatory fees for full-time students who qualify for in-state tuition earning an associate’s degree at CCRI. At RIC and URI, the scholarship will cover tuition and fees for a student’s junior and senior years.

Educational leaders involved with the plan agree that it would position Rhode Island as an educational leader and that students would reap many benefits.

“Governor Raimondo has proposed a historic education program that will provide students and their families with an even greater potential to achieve their dreams,” said URI President David M. Dooley in a statement. “The Rhode Island Promise Scholarship is truly innovative in that it is designed to accelerate the number of students completing degree programs while also significantly cutting the cost of their education.”

The governor’s office said Rhode Island’s Promise would be a “significant step” in helping young Rhode Islanders in obtaining a college degree – almost 90 percent of Rhode Island 12th graders say they plan to attend college, yet less than two-thirds of students enroll, it reports in a press release.

“Having a college degree is a critical component to achieving economic success,” said Rhode Island College President Frank D. Sanchez in a statement. “The Rhode Island Promise Scholarship proposed by Governor Raimondo will significantly increase access to a college education for Rhode Islanders, providing greater social mobility for all students and, in turn, helping to drive our state’s economy.”

Others cited financial stresses and debts students face, saying the plan would help ease those burdens.

“We know that our students face significant financial challenges that can stall or even stop their progress,” said CCRI President Meghan Hughes. “By offering two years of free college to our state’s high school graduates, Rhode Island’s Promise increases their ability to persist, complete their associate’s degrees and certificate programs, and pursue a bachelor’s degree and high-quality careers right here in Rhode Island.”

Barbara S. Cottam, chair of the state Board of Education, said Rhode Island’s Promise will set the state’s “skilled workforce” apart and “signal to our students that they will have the chance to achieve their dreams.”

State leaders were excited about Rhode Island’s Promise but pointed out ways in which it might be improved, other initiatives that should come along with it, and a need for more details on financing. Representative Joseph McNamara expressed approval for the plan in a phone call Monday. He cited low graduation rates at RIC and URI, saying the plan would provide an incentive to help improve those rates. He also seconded the governor’s remarks about degrees or certifications being necessary for many jobs on the future market.

“We know that 70 percent of the jobs that will be available in Rhode Island in the next 10 years will require a post-secondary degree or training for certification,” he said. “The future of our state is dependent upon ensuring that we have a workforce that is trained for employment in 21st century skills.”

Free tuition would also lessen the burden of student debt (which averages at about $35,000 in Rhode Island) on students and families, making “the American dream attainable to all of our families,” he said.

In addition, McNamara said he’d spoken with Hughes about instituting block scheduling, which would help provide more classes at more times for busy students to complete their graduation requirements on time – the governor’s initiative is an important “puzzle piece” that should be matched with improvements in class scheduling, he said.

Representative Robert Lancia of Cranston, who was at the Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Breakfast and saw the governor make her announcement, also said he liked the idea of Rhode Island’s Promise but hoped for more details on monetary aspects of the plan.

“I think anything that makes school more affordable is great. I think, really, the challenge is the financial aspect,” he said. “I’ll be interested to hear that at the State of the State and hope she can provide more details.”

Representative Joe Shekarchi echoed those sentiments, saying he also thinks Rhode Island’s Promise is a good idea but wanted more specifics, especially regarding costs associated with the plan. In addition, he was glad to hear of a residency requirement of three years (living in Rhode Island for three years is required to be eligible for in-state tuition) to qualify for the program as he wanted to ensure the assistance goes to Rhode Islanders.

“I am interested to learn more about it and have already gotten constituents emailing me about it,” he said.

The governor’s release stated that the $30 million cost of the program will be financed “through new revenues made available as a result of economic growth and tough choices the state has made in recent years to get its fiscal house in order,” but didn’t get into more specifics.

Governor Raimondo is expected to discuss Rhode Island’s Promise during her State of the State Address Tuesday night at 7 p.m. The speech will be broadcast live on her Facebook page, on Capitol TV, and on local television stations. Full details about Rhode Island’s Promise are available at FreeCollegeRI.com.

Comments

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  • richardcorrente

    "Free" education that costs the taxpayers $30,000,000 a year is NOT FREE!

    Bernie Sanders tried to sell this idea. It didn't work for him either. "Free" means "taxpayer-paid".

    "Free" means "higher taxes"! Rhode Island is one of the highest taxed states in the U.S. and Governor Riamondo wants them to go higher?

    I say "NO!"

    And if this program goes through, I strongly predict that tuition costs will skyrocket once colleges can charge anything they want knowing that the taxpayer will "just pay" like they do with Obomacare.

    And where are we getting the money from? I read that comment about "new revenues" and "economic growth" and it seems like the Governor wants to spend those savings long, long before they arrive, if they ever do.

    Why don't we get the money from The Lottery, which was supposed to be for education but never went in that direction, or how about the temporary 1% state sales tax? Or the temporary state income tax? Why? Because it won't happen that way.

    Let's face it. This program WILL BE TAXPAYER-PAID! The money will be paid by the TAXPAYERS!

    If that's what Rhode Island taxpayers want, they should support it.

    I, for one, won't.

    Thanks for reading.

    Rick Corrente

    Tuesday, January 17, 2017 Report this

  • perky4175

    she should be taking care of the problems at the registry and the dept of human services

    ri tax payers shouldnt be paying for people to go to college we already pay for enough free loaders

    Wednesday, January 18, 2017 Report this

  • RISchadenfreude

    The coffers are empty.

    The State is in the hole.

    There's nothing left to give.

    The tax base continues to move away.

    That being said, this boondoggle is probably a "done deal". It'll wind up being another black hole that RI's diminishing tax base will continue to pour money into, teaching kids no useful job skills for the real world. How about trade schools?

    RI's purpose seems to be to serve as an example of what NOT to do for the rest of the nation.

    Thursday, January 19, 2017 Report this

  • ThatGuyInRI

    Can this be retroactive?

    I would like to get a rebate on 2 of the years I spent at URI.

    While I'm not a proponent of this proposal, it needs to be put in content.

    Imagine if you will the governor, president, whomever proposing that we provide each and every American with 12-13 years of tax payer funded education. There would be riots in the streets, claims of "we can't afford it" so on, so on, ad infinitum, calls for recall elections...blah, blah, blah. But we've been doing it for over a century now and nobody seems to think it's a bad idea. Just a little perspective.

    But I still don't support the idea.

    Thursday, January 19, 2017 Report this