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In his contempo speech on higher education, Vice President Biden'due south speech touched on the demand for higher levels of degree completion, greater ease of access, especially for those of low income, and the demand to address the growing cost of higher education, generally. His prescription: to make two years of community college gratuitous.

With this speech, the vice president promoted President Obama's long-standing goal of greater degree attainment, while joining Presidential candidates Clinton, Sanders, and O'Malley in calls for various forms of "free," or subsidized, higher education. Each of these reformation proposals assumes that the cost of a degree has risen beyond a betoken that students can afford. "Proof" is cited by the fact that student loan debt exceeds that of credit cards — $1.3 trillion.

That there may be little correlation between student debt and degree costs has non been considered. Yet, analysis shows that much debt can be attributed to factors other than college attendance. Over-borrowing, living expense support, and weak lending practices all appear to play a larger role in student debt than tuition.

Related: How many already nourish community college for gratis?

These unexamined factors include:

The cost of "gratis" appears to be besides great.

The number of enrolled students nears an all-time high (twenty.3 million).

A greater number of students have needed loans to cover living expenses considering of lost disinterestedness, reduced savings and the unemployment of the past 6 years.

Student loans have been easily attained, and, at iii percent to 6 pct involvement, have been used to pay off fifteen per centum to xviii percent credit carte debt.

Over 40 percent of electric current pupil debt is owed by graduate students (which represent simply ten percent of total enrollment), who must study full-time and need aid with living expenses.

Loans are so hands attained that students also immature to open a bank account or to obtain a credit menu, can receive hundreds of thousands in money for schoolhouse, regardless of credit, assets or expected ability to re-pay. According to the Federal Reserve of New York, 70 per centum of current debt is held by students under the historic period of 20.

Related: Individual colleges target customs higher grads they once shunned

Schools are not permitted to adjust loan disbursements even when students enroll at less than total time condition, or pursue depression demand, low pay fields of study.  The "Gainful Employment" standards that prevent students from over paying for low cost certificates do non apply for degrees, costing many multiples more.

Whether a community college, or a public 4-year institution, the dependence created by the federal funding models proposed, are fraught with potential take a chance for institutions. The threat of subsidy withdrawal would be sufficient, it is thought, to ensure adherence to federal expectations. The federal government could effectively "forcefulness" changes in an effort to create greater college and university "efficiency."

Examples of federal heavy handedness tin be seen in the way the present Administration uses connected access to Title IV funds every bit a means of pushing a particular ideological calendar such every bit suppression of proprietary education. It is non inconceivable that dependence on federal money could forcefulness schools to make changes, in the proper name of efficiency and price reduction, while actually rooted in particular political/ideological agendas of the political party in ability.

Related: Free community college could cost more than we call back

The nigh powerful statement against "costless" degrees or "gratuitous" customs college is that they already exist. Financially disadvantaged students now receive Pell Grants that cover almost all the costs of attendance, including those costs outlined in each of the candidate proposals.

Finally, a "exam of logic" may exist advisable here.  Consider that the cost of tuition has grown almost apace for the public institutions which enroll the behemothic share of those in higher (70 percent).

This increment has been driven by two factors, loss of tax revenue during The Neat Recession, and increasing taxpayer resistance to subsidizing higher education. Should we at present assume that these same tax payers are going to exist happier paying federal taxes to support college omnipresence than they were of paying state taxes for this purpose?

Related: Obama administration takes large step in simplifying fiscal-aid awarding process

The recent Recession has had more than to practice with educatee debt than degree costs. Community college costs are already low, reasonable and within the reach of nearly all.

Creating institutional dependence upon federal back up will finer "nationalize" higher education in America, while potentially reducing the diversity of models and offerings (in the proper name of ease of administration) that accept fabricated our systems of college didactics the envy of the world.

The cost of "free" appears to be too great.

Dr. John F. Ebersole is president of Excelsior College in Albany, N.Y.

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Dr. John F. Ebersole is president of Excelsior Higher in Albany, N.Y.