Actually, there was free college in NYC; admission was very competitive and only the cream of the crop were admitted. Also I believe that University in England is free. The difference is that there is no assumption that everyone should go to college - only those who were capable and deserved it. I think it was in the mid 1970's that NYC University system started "open enrollment" accepting those who applied first resulting in the necessity for remedial courses. That was the beginning of the end as far as I'm concerned. The value of a college education is a joke in the US. I'm still not sure about on-line universities. I think the dynamic of a classroom with back and forth discussion is valuable as a learning tool and in many instances there is the necessity for hands on learning especially in the biological sciences and arts. Most of those complaining that they want free college should never have attended college in the first place, but gone to trade school. You don't need to have a college degree to be well read.