Should all states follow suit? Or is it an unrealistic plan at the expense of taxpayers?

In “New Mexico Announces Plan for Free College for State Residents,” Simon Romero and Dana Goldstein write:

In one of the boldest state-led efforts to expand access to higher education, New Mexico is unveiling a plan on Wednesday to make tuition at its public colleges and universities free for all state residents, regardless of family income.

The move comes as many American families grapple with the rising cost of higher education and as discussions about free public college gain momentum in state legislatures and on the presidential debate stage. Nearly half of the states, including New York, Oregon and Tennessee, have guaranteed free two- or four-year public college to some students. But the New Mexico proposal goes further, promising four years of tuition even to students whose families can afford to pay the sticker price.

The program, which is expected to be formally announced by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Wednesday and still requires legislative approval, would apply to all 29 of the state’s two- and four-year public institutions. Long one of the poorest states in the country, New Mexico plans to use climbing revenues from oil production to pay for much of the costs.

Some education experts, presidential candidates and policymakers consider universal free college to be a squandering of scarce public dollars, which might be better spent offering more support to the neediest students.

But others say college costs have become too overwhelming and hail the many drives toward free tuition.

“I think we’re at a watershed moment,” said Caitlin Zaloom, a cultural anthropologist at New York University who has researched the impact of college costs on families. “It used to be that a high school degree could allow a young adult to enter into the middle class. We are no longer in that situation. We don’t ask people to pay for fifth grade and we also should not ask people to pay for sophomore year.”

The article continues:

Officials contend that New Mexico would benefit most from a universal approach to tuition assistance. The state’s median household income is $46,744, compared with a national median of $60,336. Most college students in the state also come from relatively disadvantaged backgrounds; almost 65 percent of New Mexico undergraduates are among the nation’s neediest students, according to the state’s higher education department.

The new program in New Mexico would be open to recent graduates of high schools or high school equivalency programs in the state, and students must maintain a 2.5 grade point average. In contrast to other states, like Georgia, that have curbed access to public colleges by unauthorized immigrants, New Mexico would open the tuition program to all residents, regardless of immigration status.

It concludes:

In some ways, the burst of interest in free public college is a return to the nation’s educational past. As recently as the 1970s, some public university systems remained largely tuition-free.

As a bigger and more diverse group of undergraduates entered college in recent decades, costs rose, and policymakers began to promote the idea of a degree as less of a public benefit than a private asset akin to a mortgage, according to Professor Zaloom, of N.Y.U. Many states raised tuition, and students became more reliant on grants and loans.

“We should be looking at the examples from our own history,” Professor Zaloom said. Free college educations from the University of California, the City University of New York and other public systems, she added, have been “some of the most successful engines of mobility in this country.”

Students, read the entire article, then tell us:

• Should college be free? Do you believe that students have a right to higher education in the same way they now have a right to elementary and secondary education?

• If yes, would you place any restrictions on it, such as requiring that students maintain a 2.5 grade point average?

• If not, how would you address the problem of unequal access to college and the debt that often comes with a degree?

• Some critics to the plan respond that universal free college would be “a squandering of scarce public dollars” that should be spent on the “neediest students.” Do you think their concerns are justified?

• Governor Lujan Grisham says, “This program is an absolute game changer for New Mexico. In the long run, we’ll see improved economic growth, improved outcomes for New Mexican workers and families and parents.” Do you agree? What are possible downsides to the plan? And is it realistic?

• How concerned are you about the price of college? Do you worry about graduating with a large debt burden? How do you plan to pay for college?