Valley students graduating in 2017 go to COD for free

College tuition will no longer be a factor for Valley high school students graduating in 2017. College of the Desert is offering a tuition-free education next fall. “If you look at the college going rate throughout the state, it’s low in this area and we need to increase that,” said superintendent and president of College of the Desert, Dr. Joel Kinnamon. Kinnamon is making it his goal to remove the economic barrier from students living in the Coachella Valley. “When you’re going to college you don’t want to think about having to pay back years and years of the cost of your education. So what we want to do is minimize that cost and increase the amount of students who go to college,” Kinnamon said. The all new plEDGE program guarantees high school students graduating in 2017 a year’s worth of free college tuition. According to Kinnamon the program is solely funded by donors and partners — no tax payer dollars. “It’s a way for us, if we don’t have the money, to get a free education,” said one Palm Springs senior student. “Having free tuition would be a great opportunity, not only for me, but for others,” said a second student. Students are asked to apply for financial aid. COD will pay the remaining fee or the total cost of tuition if a student is not eligible for financial aid. Students in the program are also required to maintain a 2.0 GPA, complete 10 hours of volunteer work and participate in school activities. For more information about the program click here .