Tennessee's promise.

• Author: Hultin, Suzanne
• Position: TRENDS

President Obama's proposal for a federal-state partnership to provide tuition-free community college across the country resembles a program created by the Tennessee General Assembly last year.

The Tennessee Promise scholarship and mentoring program gives recent high school graduates the opportunity to attend state community colleges without paying tuition or fees, starting next fall. More than 58,000 students (roughly 90 percent of high school seniors) completed scholarship applications last year for the program.

To pay for it, Tennessee created an endowment fund with most of the original support coming from $300 million of lottery reserve funds and $47 million in one-time state general fund dollars.

Several other states have discussed similar programs, and lawmakers in at least eight states have introduced legislation either to offer free community college or to set the groundwork to implement the president s plan.

Obama's proposal, "America's College Promise," would increase federal funding to cover three-quarters of the average community college tuition, but would require states to cover the rest. If all 50 states participate, the administration estimates the plan would benefit 9 million students a year and save each an average of $3,800 in tuition.

Congressional action is needed to implement the program, and the initial reaction has been unfavorable from Republicans, who say it's outside the purview of the federal government and unaffordable.

Tennessee Promise scholarships are "last dollar" grants, meaning students must first exhaust all other sources of financial aid, including all federal Pell Grant aid. If all of the other sources of financial aid combined do not cover tuition, then students will receive...