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McClure Foundation urges state support for ‘‘Free Degree Promise’’ after early results show increased persistence
Summary
The McClure Foundation briefed the committee on the Free Degree Promise at CCV, saying early cohorts are graduating at higher rates and recommending the state codify and fund the program after the foundation’s five‑year commitment ends.
Carolyn Weir, executive director of the McClure Foundation, told the House Commerce & Economic Development Committee on Feb. 21 that the foundation’s Free Degree Promise pilot at the Community College of Vermont (CCV) has produced early results showing higher completion and persistence among participating students and urged the state to adopt the program when the foundation’s five‑year commitment ends.
"The Free Degree Promise students are graduating at twice the rate and in half the time as community college students nationally," Weir said, summarizing internal assessments of the pilot.
Weir told lawmakers the foundation’s model braids existing aid—Pell Grants, the Vermont State Grant and 802 Opportunity—while adding enhanced advising, living stipends and outreach targeted at students who are first‑generation and low income. The foundation has funded the program as a five‑year commitment covering cohorts that began in 2023 through 2026 and said the cohort is showing a disproportionate share of first‑generation and low‑income students compared with the general student population.
Weir said the foundation is asking the Legislature to introduce and consider a bill to codify the accelerated associate‑degree pathway at CCV and to fund a transition so the program can continue after the foundation’s commitment ends in FY 2027. She said fully scaled, the program could cost the general fund less than $2 million a year and that this year the foundation requests a $250,000 appropriation to help signal continuity for current tenth graders.
Weir described individual student stories—students who earned college credits in high school, obtained certificates, and entered the workforce or continued postsecondary study—and said the model increases college access and completion among students who have historically faced barriers.
Committee members asked about the program’s interaction with existing state supports and federal Pell eligibility. Weir said the model relies on students completing the FAFSA and using Pell and state grant resources first, and that the foundation’s funds operate as supplemental last‑dollar support along with enhanced advising to ensure students complete required aid applications ahead of enrollment.
There was no committee action taken on the request during the meeting.
