Collin Clair, now a junior at Champlain College, remembers when he first heard about the Free Degree Promise. High school students who participate can take advantage of a fast-track degree through the Early College program at the Community College of Vermont. Clair’s advisor told him if he signed up by May 1 of his junior year in high school, he could simultaneously fulfill high school graduation requirements while completing his first year of community college, all during his senior year of high school. He would then take one more year at the Community College of Vermont and receive an associate degree with no tuition debt.
His response, “Nice!!”
He knew he wanted to continue his education and, with the support of his family, he signed up for the Free Degree Early College program.
“I really didn’t know what I wanted to do,” he says; however, the Vergennes native was not lacking in ambition. His high school record was good enough to earn him three merit-based scholarships while he also found time to work on several community service projects. The one he’s proudest of was the construction of an owl house, a refuge for injured birds while they recover.
“We purchased a shed and converted it into a safe place for the owls before they were released back into the wild,” he says.
Clair admits that some of the CCV courses were challenging, but the program was doable and the flexibility of online learning enabled him to earn money working at afterschool programs. He adds, “I was also able to help out my dad when he needed an extra set of hands for his carpentry business.”
The Free Degree Promise began in 2022 and is funded by the Vermont-based McClure Foundation.
The timing was good. Rebecca Copans, the special projects manager at the McClure Foundation, reports that “Vermont used to have exceptionally good college continuation rates. Those rates have been falling since 2018 and are now (at 40%) the lowest in New England. Too many young Vermonters are leaving high school without a diploma, without a clear next step, without continuing their education.”
She continues, “For many, college feels out of reach. That’s why universal debt-free fast-tracked pathways like the Free Degree Promise are so important. By pairing an affordability guarantee for everyone with the strong supports of a community college, the program is reshaping the story … showing students they can create the futures they’re imagining for themselves here in Vermont.”
Katie Keszey, director of communications for CCV, says there’s “a lot of deliberate effort to do outreach to high schools to provide information about these opportunities.”
The McCLure Foundation now reports that since the Free Degree Promise was announced, triple the number of low-income students are accessing the program (although there are no income-related criteria). In 2025, CCV graduated its largest cohort of teenagers ever from across the state. Most were just one year out of high school and half were first-generation college-going.
Copans emphasizes that, while the Free Degree Promise offers wrap-around support such as stipends for books, fees, and transportation, the goal is not just financial assistance.
“We want to make sure they’re reaching their goals, and advisors are there to help,” she notes.
Clair says his advisor was “awesome,” helping him with course selection and guiding him through the transfer to Champlain College as he navigated the complicated world of transcripts and applications.
Some Free Degree Promise students decide to use their associate degree to begin a career in their chosen field. Others, like Collin, opt to continue on to a four-year college and will receive five free semesters at that college as well as continued help from an advisor.
It took some adjustment to move from the online learning he opted for at CCV to taking classes in person at Champlain, but Clair has made it work, even with the commute from his home in Vergennes.
He’s upbeat about his Champlain experience, noting “there are so many opportunities here for internships and hands-on-learning.”
Champlain College is also one of the top ten game-design schools in the nation, and for students like Clair, this is a big draw. While he has been interested in cybersecurity, he’s not yet sure what he’ll pursue as a career, although it will probably be related to computers.
He does know that, in the spring of 2027, when he’s a year younger than most college graduates, he’ll be the first in his family to hold a bachelor’s degree.
