Higher education remains more attainable in Vermont thanks to two programs. The first is Vermont’s Early College program that allows high school seniors to take college classes during their senior year, for free. Students can essentially complete their first year of college before they graduate from high school.
The second program is a Community College of Vermont and J. Warren and Lois McClure Foundation joint effort called Free Degree Promise which, coupled with the Early College program, allows Vermont’s graduating seniors to complete a free CCV associate’s degree. This second program has been extended to current 10th and 11th graders throughout the state. It was first offered to students graduating in 2023-2026.
Together, these programs are hugely impactful, bringing higher education within reach of many Vermont families for whom it might not otherwise be an option.
Participating students can earn an associate’s degree and hit the workforce. They can also use these first two years of college to get required coursework and prerequisites for a bachelor’s degree out of the way so that they can transfer to a four-year program.
Even better, CCV actually direct transfer pathway agreements with many Vermont and New England colleges so in some cases students don't even need to apply to transfer - it ends up being an internal transfer process.
The program launched in 2022 and since then Vermont students pursuing this path are graduating at twice the rate (and in half the time and at half the cost) of students nationally. Significantly, almost half of the June 2025 CCV graduates of this program were first-generation college students. This is real opportunity.
And what are these young adults studying? Twenty-five percent earned degrees in health care and behavioral science, 14% in business, and 17% in STEM, environmental science, and information technology. These are areas were we very specifically need more workers.
The program has its costs. School districts do not receive direct per student funding from the state for students taking college classes during their senior year so it’s a net loss of district revenue. In this instance though, the benefits, coupled with the philanthropy of the McLure Foundation, make it worthwhile.
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