White House: No one will get a free ride

America's College Promise — the president's plan to make two years of community college free for responsible students — is the bold answer to a leading challenge of our time: how to keep our economy growing while giving all Americans the chance to compete.

Making at least two years of college just as available as high school will promote skills that can drive decades of economic growth and prosperity — just like expanding access to high school did a century ago. And it will build on state and local efforts, like those happening in Tennessee and Chicago, to make community college free.

In the early 20th century, a grassroots movement helped make high school universal and free, driving high school graduation rates from 10% in 1910 to 60% in 1950. As graduation rates grew, so did our economy.

Nearly 40% of college students are enrolled at one of the more than 1,100 community colleges across America. These colleges are particularly important for students who are older, are working, need remedial classes or can only take classes part-time. They're an affordable route to a four-year college degree, and they offer tailored training programs that lead to good jobs. We should do everything we can to open these pathways to opportunity to more Americans.

No one will get a free ride. Students must keep their grades up. Colleges must offer high-quality programs and help more students graduate. Most important, states will need to invest more in higher education. And because the plan will require $0 tuition and distribute funds to states based on how many students they serve and how well they serve them, states won't be able to game the system by raising tuition.

More than ever, some higher education is the ticket to the middle class. Americans need a way to gain knowledge and skills without having to take on decades of debt. And having a highly skilled workforce has never been more important to our economic success.

America's College Promise is designed to tackle both goals: to ensure our nation's future prosperity while giving all Americans the fair shot they deserve. It's an opportunity we cannot afford to let pass us by.

Cecilia Muñoz is director of the White House Domestic Policy Council.