Tuition-free college gains ground

Genesis Mosquera, a work study student at Norwalk Community College at work at the Financial Aid office on Monday January 30, 2017 in Norwalk Conn. Genesis Mosquera, a work study student at Norwalk Community College at work at the Financial Aid office on Monday January 30, 2017 in Norwalk Conn. Photo: Alex Von Kleydorff / Hearst Connecticut Media Buy photo Photo: Alex Von Kleydorff / Hearst Connecticut Media Image 1 of / 32 Caption Close Tuition-free college gains ground 1 / 32 Back to Gallery

No tuition payments?

Just the words bring a smile to the face of Anthony Torraco, of Shelton, who is working his way through Housatonic Community College, juggling car insurance, tuition payments and textbook purchases.

“I’ve already spent $960 just on textbooks between these two semesters, ” said Torraco, 19, a freshman business major. “Free would make it much easier.”

The idea sounds tempting to Katherine Reinoso, 24, of Bridgeport, as well.

Another business major, Reinoso holds down a full-time job to pay for college as she goes. It’s a struggle at times.

But Reinoso wonders. Would an open door to college flood her classes with students not as serious about their studies? Would it result in fewer services?

“When I pay, I value it more,” said Reinoso.

The same questions are being raised by lawmakers in Hartford as governors of both New York and Rhode Island contemplate moving to a free college system. The New York proposal unveiled in January by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo — known as the “Excelsior Scholarship” — would offer free tuition to New Yorkers whose families make less than $125,000 a year. It is anticipated that as many as one million students would be eligible.

Many Connecticut legislators are watching the neighboring state’s ambitious plan.

More Information New York v Connecticut New York Connecticut Community College Tuition $4,350 $3,741 CUNY v CSU tuition $6,330 $9,741 - $10,500 SUNY v UCONN tuition $6,470 $11,224 Number of schools 84 18 Number of full- and part-time undergraduate students* 658,000 103,000 State aid to higher education in ’16-17 $7.2B $944.6M

“I am open to any and all conversations about what we can do to bridge the (cost) gap, especially in areas where the state needs qualified workers and can’t find them,” said state Rep. Pam Staneski, R-Milford, a member of the Legislature’s higher education committee.

Still, Staneski, a mother of four college graduates, warns that when it comes to tuition, the devil is in the details.

State Rep. Matt Lesser, D-Middletown, has proposed a bill in the current legislative session to implement a debt-free program for in-state students attending public colleges. The measure has been slated for a public hearing.

“It sounds great and really catches hold with a lot of younger people,” agreed Rep. Fred Camillo, R-Greenwich, another member of the higher education committee. “But at end of the day, it’s not free. Someone has to pay for it. I want to see how we are going to pay for it.”

So close

The New York proposal would cover two- and four-year schools. If approved by the state Legislature, it would be rolled out over three years and, according to The New York Times, cost $163 million. New York already provides about $1 billion in aid to its college-bound residents.

Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo has proposed covering the first two years of tuition for state residents at public colleges and universities in the state.

Two other states, Tennessee and Oregon, offer free tuition programs for students attending community colleges.

In Connecticut, Meg Green, a spokeswoman for Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, agreed the rising cost of higher education, along with mounting student loan debt, block the path into the middle class for millions of Americans.

“Connecticut has acted to make higher education more accessible by allowing thousands of borrowers and holders of student debt in Connecticut to refinance their student loans at a significantly lower interest rate — effectively cutting their monthly payments and reducing the burden,” Green said.

The current rate offered by Connecticut Higher Education Student Loan Authority for loans or for refinancing loans is 4.75 percent.

In 2015, some 73 percent of Connecticut’s 36,965 public high school graduates went off to public or private colleges. The average student debt held by Connecticut graduates amounted to about $29,750, last year.

Whether Malloy thinks a free-tuition plan is the best way to ease the financial burden that comes with college, Green won’t say.

Price now

In Connecticut, nearly a billion dollars is spent annually on higher education, although state colleges and universities have seen state support shrink in recent years.

Roughly half the $1.2 billion operating budget for the Board of Regents — which oversees all of Connecticut’s state colleges and universities except for the University of Connecticut — comes from the state.

This year’s state contribution is 8 percent less than it was two years ago. Enrollment in those institutions has also been shrinking, and stands at roughly 85,000 students.

What the state doesn’t cover, tuition does.

“We know we would have more students enrolled if they didn’t have that financial burden weighing on them,” said Maribel La Luz, a spokeswoman for the Connecticut State College and University system.

La Luz said system President Mark Ojakian would support anything that increases access.

So does Housatonic Community College President Paul Broadie II.

“The more educated your community, the more you add to the tax base,” Broadie said.

He has seen students come into Housatonic on public assistance and leave with well-paying jobs. But Broadie would want to see strings attached, to ensure that “free” is valued.

“We need to be very thoughtful,” he said, “like keeping up a certain GPA to retain the free tuition.”

Tuition and fees at Housatonic stand at $4,168 a year, although a majority of students are on financial aid, which covers a good chunk of that.

One Housatonic student whose financial aid covers tuition, but not books, is Raheem Smith, 21, of Stratford.

He called free tuition a “brilliant” idea.

“It would open up the doors to so many people who don’t have the opportunity,” Smith said. “You would be surprised, the most talented and most ingenious people come from all walks of life. Knowing there is an opportunity — at least they have a shot.”

Seeing red

State Rep. William Duff, R-Danbury, doesn’t see how Connecticut can afford a free tuition program.

“There is red ink everywhere,” said Duff, a member of the higher education committee. “Connecticut is not in the same position as New York.”

There is a projected state budget gap of more than $1 billion in the coming year.

But Rep. Charles Stallworth, D-Bridgeport, another member of the higher education committee, called free tuition an excellent concept that would help invigorate the state’s struggling economy.

“I believe it will also motivate other kids to go (to college ) who otherwise wouldn’t go,” he said. “I call it a win-win.”

Lesser’s “debt-free” plan would start with community colleges and have the Board of Regents and UConn submit debt-free plans for their institutions by Jan. 1, 2018.

Others wonder what a free public college program would do to Connecticut’s 19 private colleges. Private colleges enroll nearly 50,000 undergraduate students and award 40 percent of the bachelor’s degrees earned in this state.

Connecticut has a needs-based financial aid program for state students attending private colleges, but the grant has shrunk over the years.

“We would be concerned if those already limited resources were used to support a free public college proposal in this state, thereby reducing choice even further for our neediest Connecticut students,” said Sacred Heart University President John J. Petillo.

lclambeck@ctpost.com; @lclambeck