Free community college is common sense for San Mateo County

Specifically, SMCCCD doubled the Promise Scholars Program from 2,000 to 4,000 students, expanded dual enrollment offerings for high school students, and increased the use of Zero Cost Textbooks. These commitments to equity follow over $1 million in direct food assistance for our students and their families. Our San Mateo County Board of Supervisors also supported the goal of free community college with a $2 million contribution to this effort.

The Promise Scholars Program assists full-time, often first-generation, college students who lack the financial resources and social support to complete college. It continues to be a proven success.

Currently, fewer than 1 in 5 community college students graduate and transfer to four-year universities in less than three years. Promise Scholars students succeed at a rate 2.5x greater. Over half of Promise Scholars students complete their degree or successfully transfer to university.

With Promise Scholars, enrollment fees (about $1,400 annually) are waived and financial assistance for books, computers, transportation and food is offered. Extensive wraparound services, including dedicated individual counseling, mentoring and academic support help students complete their degree or transfer goals. Dual Enrollment allows high school students to take college-level courses and receive college and high school credits simultaneously. This shortens the time and cost to finish college.

Completing college matters. The federal government reports salaries for those with a bachelor’s degree are 65% higher than high school graduates. Lifetime earnings are about $1 million greater for college grads. SMCCCD trade and technical certifications increase worker salaries by more than 50%. Higher education is the path to a better life.

So, why aren’t more individuals stepping forward to take advantage of this opportunity for a better future? In San Mateo County, powerful forces such as gentrification, high living costs, competition from for-profit training organizations, and the pandemic contribute to community college enrollment declining 30% over the past decade. We hope to reverse this trend with more extensive outreach to high schools, improved technical training and job placement services and robust marketing efforts to explain and highlight the enormous benefits of using community college.

We know that educational attainment is the greatest driver of individual economic outcomes in America. Community college can reduce the wealth gap between rich and underresourced communities by offering students a path to complete degrees and certifications which increase earning potential sustainably.

Students can expect to spend about $28,000 per year to attend the California State University and $38,000 per year to attend the University of California. Rather than add to our nation’s $1.7 trillion student debt burden, SMCCCD students can now cut their college cost in half simply by choosing community college. In fact, prior to 1985, community colleges in California were tuition-free.

As stewards of the SMCCCD, we thank you, San Mateo County, for your investment in our community colleges. There is a certain magic that happens on our campuses where people with modest resources can access the single most reliable return on investment known today — completing a college degree or obtaining career and technical certification.

Please come see us at https://smccd.edu/collegeconnection/getting-started.php to start on your path to a better life and a more engaged and equitable community for us all.

John Pimentel, Lisa Petrides, Tom Nuris, Maurice Goodman and Richard Holober are members of the San Mateo County Community College District Board of Trustees.