CCV, McClure Foundation expand free college degree program

October 16, 2025  |  By Waterbury Roundabout 

The J. Warren and Lois McClure Foundation and the Community College of Vermont have announced an extension of a free college degree program to include students in Vermont’s high school classes of 2027 and 2028. 

The extension of the Free Degree Promise gives current 10th- and 11th-graders the opportunity to complete a free CCV associate degree just one year after high school graduation. The program was first offered to the classes of 2023 through 2026.

Since launching in 2022, the Free Degree Promise has helped hundreds of young Vermonters pursue fast-tracked, debt-free degrees. Students on this pathway are graduating at twice the rate and in half the time as community college students nationally.

As a junior at Richford Jr./Sr. High School, Donovan Arnold was ready for a challenge. Through Vermont’s Early College program at CCV, he spent his senior year completing 28 college credits, earning a bookkeeping certificate, and gaining work experience through a 100-hour internship with the finance team at his local Federally Qualified Health Center — all before graduating high school. With tuition support, stipends, and career advising from the program, Donovan continued at CCV and earned his debt-free degree in accounting just one year after finishing high school.

“The thing I’m most excited about is being able to get into what I want to do at a young age,” Arnold said. “That feels like a really big win for me.”

At a time when Vermont’s high school graduation and college continuation rates are the lowest in New England, particularly for underrepresented student groups, the Free Degree Promise builds on the success of state programs like Early College and the 802 Opportunity Grant to help young Vermonters complete high school and continue their career-connected learning.

CCV President Joyce Judy said this is great news for Vermont students and families. “Extending the Free Degree Promise will keep more doors to opportunity open for young Vermonters while giving us a longer runway to refine the model, analyze what’s working, and share what we’re learning with the state, Judy said.

The state’s longtime Early College program lets eligible high school seniors take a full year of college courses tuition-free while completing their high school diploma. Students who successfully complete Early College at CCV can then continue through the Free Degree Promise, earning their free associate degree within five additional semesters and with the benefit of enhanced advising and stipends for expenses such as transportation and textbooks.

Since the program’s launch, CCV has seen triple the number of low-income students enrolling in Early College and triple the number of Early College completers persisting near full-time toward a CCV degree.

Vermont Department of Labor Commissioner Kendal Smith said the program is a boost for the Vermont workforce. 

This past June, more than 70 Free Degree Promise graduates — representing 13 Vermont counties and nearly half of whom were first-generation college students — earned their associate degrees, on average, just one year after high school. Twenty-five percent earned degrees in health care and behavioral science, 14% in business, and 17% in STEM, environmental science, and information technology.

“We see that success and want to keep it going,” said Carolyn Weir, executive director of the McClure Foundation, an affiliate of the Vermont Community Foundation. She noted examples of recent graduates who are starting their own HVAC business and pursuing teacher licensure through UVM.

As a homeschool student, Fiona Stowell of Montpelier enrolled in Early College to try out being in a structured classroom. After successfully completing her associate degree, she had the confidence to apply to the Berklee College of Music.

“It would be hard to go to college cold turkey as a homeschool student. I got much better at these college-level skills. Early College is for anybody who is driven to take the next step in their academics, to challenge themselves, to expand their worldview, and get a head start on their education,” Stowell said. “It was a no-brainer for me—I am surprised more people don’t do it.”    

The Free Degree Promise was a game-changer for Natalee Wells of Duxbury, who works at a local preschool in the Mad River Valley. 

“It has always been my dream to be a teacher, and I started honing in on like what I wanted to do in the middle of junior year. When I saw the opportunities at CCV, it really motivated me. I graduated with my associate’s degree last spring, just one year after high school,” Wells said. 

More information: ccv.edu/freedegree.