It’s a simple fact that Rhode Island’s economic success depends on a highly educated and skilled workforce. But, with higher education tuition and fees continuing to rise and incomes stagnating for many lower and middle class Ocean State residents, the ability of thousands of families to afford the key to economic and social mobility for their children has been greatly diminished. ...
Forty-three percent of Rhode Island adults have a postsecondary degree, which is above the national average but second from the bottom in the New England region. It is also far below Governor Raimondo’s goal that 70 percent of adult residents have a degree by 2025. At the current rate of college completion, Rhode Island will not have enough skilled workers to meet the needs of its employers as early as 2020. Experiences from other states and our own research shows that the only way to dramatically improve current trajectories for college completion is to take the issue of the price of college off the table by making a Promise to students and their families that tuition will be free.
Read CFCT President Morley Winograd's full written testimony in support of Rhode Island's Promise below.
Our goal is to make higher education a possibility for every American, without regard to their financial circumstances.
We have a lot to do and not much time to do it, so your support is critical for our campaign to succeed. It’s with your investment that we can fundamentally reform how higher education is financed in this country, opening the doors to a more equitable society.
If you agree with our goal, our plan, and the urgency of the problem, we ask that you give what you can to help us write the next chapter in our nation’s history of continuously expanding access to universal, free education.
