Study Finds Free Community College Related to Decline in First-Year Enrollment at Four-Year Colleges

Inside Higher Education reports that a study by Prof. Oded Gurantz of the University of Missouri found that free community college in Oregon "helped increase enrollment at the state’s two-year colleges but shifted students away from public four-year institutions in the first year of its existence." The study also found that the "promise" scholarship (as tuition-free college policies are often called) did not provide much financial aid to low-income students "because it is a last-dollar scholarship, meaning it covers tuition and fees only after students have used all federal and state financial aid for which they are eligible." The full report is available here.