WSU community members are advocating a tuition-free college education for those who want to become public servants.

The proposed U.S. Public Service Academy would be an undergraduate institution offering a four-year tuition-free education in exchange for five years of civic service in fields such as education, health care, law enforcement and emergency management.

Cornell Clayton, director of the Thomas S. Foley Institute for Public Policy and Public Service, formally endorsed the academy’s establishment on March 23, joining President Elson S. Floyd, who endorsed it last fall.

“It fits very nicely with our mission,” Clayton said.

Quality people are needed in all sectors of public service, he said.

“You become a different type of person when you perform public service – it’s not all about your career,” Clayton said. “It gives you a greater sense of nation, which goes back to the founding of our country. Being involved in the government makes you a better citizen.” The first six U.S. presidents pushed to establish a military academy along with a civilian academy, but the idea was never approved by Congress, said Melissa Stuart, a 2008 WSU alumna and special assistant for the U.S. Public Service Academy. Eventually, the military academies were established, but never a civilian one.

Chris Asch, executive director of the U.S. Public Service Academy, recognized the need for skilled public servants after Hurricane Katrina.

The academy’s curriculum of the would focus on service and leadership. It would have requirements for students to study abroad, master a foreign language, take public service internships and summer leadership development, Stuart said.

Students would receive a bachelor’s degree in a liberal arts field with a focus in public service, she said.

“The academy would be molded after the military academies,” she said.

To gain acceptance to the academy, prospective students would need to get a congressional nomination.

To earn a nomination, students would need to show a dedication to service, along with strong academic and leadership skills, Asch said.

Unlike military academies, prospective students would compete against other nominees from their state. Spots would be proportional to population, so each state will be equally represented, Stuart said.

Enrollment would be limited to 500 to 600 at first, eventually rising to 1,300 to 1,500 spots for incoming freshmen, she said.

The academy would not accept transfer students unless they started over as freshmen, because the program builds a culture that could not be gained anywhere else, giving transfer credits little value, Asch said.

Upon graduation, students would be given placement in an identified area of critical need. After two years, they would to able to apply for another placement, he said.

The academy would not have a graduate school, but students would be able to attend a state graduate school tuition-free after completing at least two years of their required five years of post-graduate service, Stuart said. Attending graduate school would add two required service years for every year in school, she said.

If student were to drop out or not finish the required years of public service, they would become financially responsible for repaying the cost of their education, which is valued at $40,000 a year, she said.

The estimated cost of the federally funded academy would be $205,000,000 annually, she said.

Last year, the U.S. Public Service Academy bill was introduced in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives without a vote. This year, the bill will be reintroduced in the next congressional session, Asch said.

If everything goes as planned, the academy may be able to accept its first class in 2011, but 2012 is a more realistic aim, he said.

Cities such as Washington, D.C., and Pittsburgh have expressed interest in being home to the academy, Stuart said.

“We have such great opportunities for young people who want to become military leaders, but not those who want to become civic leaders,” said Asch, who has performed public service throughout his life, along with both of his parents.