See here from NBC News: New York Becomes Only State to Offer Free Four-Year College Excerpt: It is time such a program were instituted across the nation and subsidized in part by the Dept. of Education ...
I shockingly will say yes if you put in strict cost controls on tuition and fees, require books and materials be provided at the lowest cost possible and housing and other things be mandated to meet only minimal requirements for example a basic room, air conditioning and heating and access to functional facilities focus on a good basic education and focus on the education part. Everything else sports, clubs, athletic facilities and ground landscaping should be secondary. But unless you have cost containment what is the point schools will jack up costs at will with no one saying NO.
At least 25% of those who attend college today are wasting their money, as they are not really there to study and improve their education.
Let's see the study, please, that corroborates your statement. Otherwise you're just farting into the wind ...
Its going to fail. NY doesn't have the funds. Your link and other articles put the number of students eligible at about 1 million, the average annual cost for NY in-state is $18,261, so this program potentially costs NY state about $18.2 Billion a year. NY total state budget is right at $100 Billion. Won't work.