Students, foundation and CCV describe 'Free Degree Promise' as low‑cost route to debt‑free associate degrees

The Macquarie Foundation and students testified Feb. 20 before the Vermont House Education Committee that the Free Degree Promise, built on the state's early college program and delivered through the Community College of Vermont (CCV), is producing measurable enrollment and academic gains while requiring a modest ongoing investment.

Carolyn Weir, executive director of the Macquarie Foundation, told the committee the Free Degree Promise pairs the state's early college pathway with wraparound advising and direct student supports. "The Free Degree Promise basically takes that means testing support and makes it universal," Weir said, describing the model as a last‑dollar program that builds on Pell, the Vermont State Grant and 802 Opportunity supports.

Why it matters: Weir said the approach has produced substantive shifts for low‑income students. Since the Promise began four years ago, she said CCV has tripled the number of low‑income students enrolled in early college and now reports that about half of the current early college cohort is low income. "This past fall semester, the early college…