A new law that changes the educational system has optimists hoping that college will one day be free in California \u2013 just like in Europe.<\/p>\n
Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill on Oct. 13 called California College Promise, which might allow 19,000 students to get their first year of community college education for free.<\/p>\n
Currently, community colleges are required to charge an \u201cenrollment fee\u201d of $46 per unit per semester for residents (out of state and international students pay a lot more).<\/p>\n
Assembly Bill No. 19 will \u201coffer free tuition to all full-time first-year students, regardless of financial need.\u201d<\/p>\n
Justine Dusautoir, 30, an international student at Foothill College, was surprised by the news.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo way, that\u2019s really good \u2026 School\u2019s really expensive here. I wish it (applied to) international people as well,\u201d Dusautoir said.<\/p>\n
AB 19 follows New York\u2019s move to free tuition at its public colleges through a scholarship program in April, and Tennessee waiving tuition for adults over 24 at its community colleges in May \u2013 changes that attempt to combat the expensive, and rising, cost of education in the US.<\/p>\n
Some countries in Europe, including Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Norway, Poland, Slovenia and Sweden already offer free higher education. Three of them \u2013 France, Germany and Norway \u2013 also extend free tuition to international students.<\/p>\n
\u201cApproximately 40 million of Americans have student debt,\u201d Marketwatch.com reported. \u201cNearly 70 percent of bachelor\u2019s degree recipients leave school with debt.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to tuition, students have to take out loans to cover textbooks, housing, and other living expenses.<\/p>\n
Nick Cafrelli, 28, who graduated from Framingham State in 2014, said that he cannot afford his own place due to his student debt, and has to live with his parents in San Jose.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am 28 years old, and have more than 20 years of student loan payments in front of me,\u201d Cafrelli said.<\/p>\n
The reality is that he\u2019s not the only one. The Bay Area has the highest cost-of-living in the US, and with the housing crisis, it stands to only get higher.<\/p>\n
If funded, AB 19 would allow students to get a leg up on their college education, and save money in their first year.<\/p>\n
According to EdSource.org, tuition for full-time California residents currently costs around $1,100 to $1,400 a year; offering it free would cost that state $30 million to $50 million a year.<\/p>\n
Besides the price tag, opponents have other reasons for balking at the move.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the problems I can see is (that) obtaining a degree becomes rather easy,\u201d SJCC student Raquel Machado Couto wrote on an online forum. \u201cThe value of degrees would eventually decrease, (just) as a high school diploma is no longer as valuable as it was many years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Awatef Chemssi, 28, who graduated Mission College last year, frames the issue more in terms of civil rights.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody should have access to education,\u201d said Chem\u00ad\u00ad\u00adssi, who now works at Google. \u201cGet a chance to get a diploma, get a good job, make money; to be able to live and stop only trying to survive.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A new law that changes the educational system has optimists hoping that college will one day be free in California \u2013 just like in Europe. Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill on Oct. 13 called California College Promise, which might allow 19,000 students to get their first year of community college education for free. Currently,…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":502,"featured_media":11939,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,379],"tags":[453,454],"staff_name":[703],"class_list":["post-11904","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-showcase","tag-college","tag-tuition","staff_name-alix-duhon"],"yoast_head":"\n