The Role of Policy Design in Free College Programs: Evidence from Virginia

Abstract More than half of states have implemented tuition-free college policies aimed at reducing attendance costs and incentivizing enrollment. We review the academic literature on the design features and impacts of these tuition-free policies, and we analyze an initiative implemented in Virginia in 2021 called Get a Skill, Get a Job, Get Ahead (G3), which provides tuition-free community college to students enrolled in eligible associate's degree, certificate, and noncredit occupational training programs in five high-demand fields. Our descriptive analysis of G3 from 2016–17 through 2022–23 shows that both institutions’ and students’ behaviors were associated with the tuition-free messaging and eligibility criteria. Specifically, institutional program offerings eligible for G3 funding and student enrollment in such programs both increased by roughly 30 percent within the first two years of program implementation. Whereas Virginia's tuition-free policy promotes enrollment in targeted occupational programs, overall enrollment effects were partially offset by a 3 percent enrollment reduction in aid-ineligible transfer-oriented programs. To promote skill development and improve labor market outcomes, policy makers should ensure that programs eligible for tuition-free college include pathways to longer-term credentials.