A new prospective bill could possibly give students who had to drop out of school close to their graduation the opportunity to return and finish their degrees for free.

House Bill 2955 (HB 2955) would create the Washington “Free to Finish” college program, which allows for Washington resident students who have left college with 15 quarters or semester credits or less to return for free.

The minimum time requirement a student has to be out of school is one quarter, but each university would also be able to choose how many quarters or semesters the student is allowed to be out of school before they are disqualified for the program.

In addition, some programs may require a student to take extra classes outside of the necessary 15 credits they need to complete.

Central President James Gaudino, along with two other university presidents, traveled to Olympia earlier this month to testify in support of HB 2955.

They were accompanied by several students from Western Washington University and Eastern Washington University.  The University of Washington and Washington State University’s presidents were not available to speak, but their support was known.

“We’re all supporting this, nobody thinks this a bad idea,” Gaudino said.

According to Gaudino, the bill had no opposition and passed unanimously and quickly through committee and has a high level of support.

Having at least 70 percent of the adult population in Washington obtain a post-secondary credential by 2023 is a stated goal for the legislature in the bill.

According to a press release from Central, research shows students are most likely to drop out when they’re about to be finished with a degree.

A study by the school, conducted over a nine year period, revealed over 11,000 students have dropped out near graduation. Money was cited as one of the main causes.  

“If you’re living on financial aid or loans and you get to that four-year part, you realize you’re a couple credits, couple courses short of graduating [and] you’re out of money,” Gaudino said.  

According to Gaudino, one of the key problems is the amount of students who don’t even make it to the four-year mark, but they instead run out of money earlier and can no longer afford the tuition.

“Some students run out money or have family crises or something before the three years and they still drop out,” Gaudino said. “Whenever they have to leave, if it’s 15 hours and it’s all that they need, Hansen’s bill will come in.”

Each university will have their own autonomy with this program.

Gaudino said his goal is to implement this program as soon as it is passes, recognizing that the university will have to be timely and proactive about spreading information and reaching out to potential students.

While being two independent ideas, both the Free to Finish college program and the possible “Degree Planner” program from Central have the goal of increasing degree completion.

“If the idea of this kind of degree planning is successful then fewer people, fewer students will find themselves after four years being some credits short,” Gaudino said. “If they do fall short then this bill will help repair them and get them back into school.”

The implementation of this program would be part of a larger effort by the university to assist students with advising and to ensure students remain on track to graduate with the funds necessary.

“I feel it’s our responsibility not to graduate you but to give you every opportunity to graduate,” Gaudino said. “It our responsibility to make that as transparent a system as we possibly can and to develop little safeguards that warn you if you’re off your plan.”

Should the bill pass, the university will reach out to students who have been gone for longer periods of time, but aren’t ready to return to full-time and assisting them with completing their degrees.

“I think it will have big impact on current Central students, but also on previous students that were enrolled here that they’ll be able to finish up their degree and get on with their life,” Gaudino said.