Education Policy, Business and Technology

Tennessee's Free College Program Is Popular, But Will It Succeed?

Governing: From the scent of linoleum to the unopened café where equipment is still being unboxed, everything about the Williamson Campus of Columbia State Community College feels brand-new. And it is. The Tennessee school, located in a Nashville suburb, is the newest community college campus in the state.

But in August, a week before the first semester started, administrators were already worried about overcrowding. The three-building campus was about to welcome 1,800 students, far more than originally planned. In the run-up to the new year, college director of communications Amy Spears-Boyd was advising students to allow themselves plenty of extra time to get through the crowded campus. “I’m really thinking you need to get here about 45 minutes early,” she told one incoming freshman. “I’m worried about you not getting a parking spot.”

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