America's College Promise was a proposal by the

Barack Obama administration Barack Obama's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 44th president of the United States began with First inauguration of Barack Obama, his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. A Democratic Pa ...

to offer all students two free years of

community college A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior se ...

tuition. It was based on the

Tennessee Promise The Tennessee Promise, administered by the Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation, is a last-dollar scholarship and mentorship program available for Tennessee's high school graduates to attend two years of secondary education. This program began ...

, a similar program for the state of Tennessee. State level programs, like the Tennessee Promise, have faced critique for their ability to fill tangible educational benefits. The bill was referred to committee in July 2015, where it languished. Later that year, Obama announced the College Promise Advisory Board, an independent coalition of American leaders in community college, political, foundation, and business sectors to advocate for the proposal. A criticism of the plan is its lack of focus on existing

student loan debt Student debt is a form of debt that is owed by an attending, formerly withdrawn, or graduated student to a lending institution, or to a financial institution. The amount that is loaned, often referred to as a ''student loan'' or the debts may be ...

. Senator

Tammy Baldwin Tammy Suzanne Green Baldwin (born February 11, 1962) is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Wisconsin since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, she served three terms in the Wisconsin St ...

and Representative

Andy Levin Andrew Saul Levin (born August 10, 1960) is an American attorney and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, Levin was elected to the House in 2018, succeeding his retiring father, Sander ...

re-introduced the bill in July 2019. Tennessee was the first to offer free community college. To be eligible for the Tennessee Promise, you must meet the requirements of a Tennessee Promise partnering organization, apply senior year and meet application deadlines, attend all team meetings and college orientation, begin in the Fall, maintain at least twelve hours per semester, attend for consecutive semesters, complete FAFSA, maintain a 2.0 GPA, and complete at least eight hours of community service per semester.

References

Obama administration initiatives Community colleges in the United States Education policy in the United States {{US-politics-stub