Northern Minnesota is under a new alert until Friday at 7 p.m.

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

In April, President Joe Biden announced his plan for letting Americans attend community college for free. The proposal — part of his $1.8 trillion

 — would waive tuition for two years of public community college and give qualified students more cash to cover living expenses. 

. If successful, it could make college accessible to students from low-income families. But critics say it could also be a faux fix that shovels more taxpayer money into a system that some say chronically underperforms. 

Host Kerri Miller got two takes on Biden’s plan Wednesday morning. Is free community college the best way to help under-resourced students get ahead? 

To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above.

Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on: 

Host

Author

In just a few years, tuition-free college has gone from a radical idea to one that’s being discussed in Congress. Is making community college free the best way to help disenfranchised students afford a college degree?

Is free community college a good idea?

Rows of empty seats in a college classroom setting.

Is free community college a good idea?

Go Deeper.

Like this?