In the State of the Union Address this week, President Obama outlined his plan to make earning a college education easier, particularly for middle class citizens. His suggested plan aims to make two years of community college as free and universal as attending high school.

While some people are questioning the necessity and practicality of the plan, some states have already implemented such programs.

The Tennessee Promise is a last-dollar scholarship program, meaning state dollars will cover tuition and other fees that aren’t covered by other grants and scholarships.

“A criticism of it is that ultimately, the state’s going to pay for middle class students to go to community college, not low income kids, because they already would have qualified for the federal help,” says Blake Farmer, an education reporter with Nashville Public Radio. “The thing that is going to be fascinating is that it changes the landscape of community college totally.”

Jennie Vaughan, Chancellor of the Bloomington Ivy Tech Community College campus, says money is overwhelmingly the factor preventing students from pursuing higher education and she supports the president’s plan to make college affordable.

“I think that it’s a program that can really work,” Vaughan says. “We need to do something for our country. We need to bring industry back to where it was and have people working jobs where they can have an affordable life, a good life and sustainable living.”

Sarah Franklin, a guidance counselor at Bloomington High School North, agrees.

“When we can talk about affordable, accessible education for people, I think that’s a great plan,” Franklin says.

She says over the years, more students have said they’re not ready to pursue a four-year degree, so they have expressed interested in attending a community college.