Completing the first year of college and getting into that second year is big for students. If they can finish one year (and in one year), they're obviously more likely to make it the full four.
Rep. Mike Michaud, a candidate for governor of Maine, has asked that colleges in Maine's state system consider making sophomore year free to lower drop-out rates, Inside Higher Ed reported.
"The idea is so simple that any trained academic will have a knee-jerk impulse to reject it out of hand," wrote Inside Higher Ed's Matt Reed. "But it's actually quite smart. With some fine-tuning, it could go somewhere."
According to a Harvard study from 2011, just 56 percent of college students graduate within six years - a rate much lower than many countries around the globe, Think Progress reported. One significant factor is tuition costs, the study found.
In his article, Reed argued for the proposal based on its simplicity (and easy advertising) and its inherent ability to preclude potential candidates. For example, such a policy might entice students previously uninterested in the Maine system while weeding out those not committed enough to wait a year before claiming their prize.
Of course, Michaud's proposal would have to be layered with caveats explaining what constituted a sophomore year (if students had more or less credits leading to it), if transfer students would be eligible, what "free" actually covered, and so on. If the system proves too complex, the idea might get lost in all the rules and turn people away, Reed warned.
Still, Reed noted that similar policies are already in place without the catchy advertising. Wanting to keep their sticker price high to remain competitive with other institutions, many colleges provide massive amounts of financial aid. Some, like Reed's alma mater, offer a free range of credits once a minimum has been reached and then charge students thereon after -- almost the same system Michaud seeks.
Reed finds Michaud's idea especially appealing because of its "transparency" and direct appeal, but is it really so direct? For it to truly be effective, the overall cost of the college would have to decrease -- colleges couldn't make up for the free year by giving compensatory less aid -- or else students would feel like they're being manipulated and trapped into reaching their second year. It couldn't work like Jeremy Lin's contract, which commits you those first two years only to heap on large sums over the last two (or the last one in the case of Lin's deal).
Thus, there would have to be a clear advantage gained by using that free year. Perhaps if the policy became a compromise, and was structured in the opposite manner of Lin's contract, it could work. By this format, students would have to pay the most tuition their first year, free the second year, cheaper than the first year junior year, and cheaper than junior year senior year (all without jeopardizing previous financial aid rates). Though that policy might make students feel trapped, it would benefit those who stay all four years (which benefits the schools) and would lower the financial risk of the free second year. It isn't, however, a perfect plan, for it might push students who aren't sure if college is for them away, or at least away from the Maine system. Tricky!
