RALEIGH (AP) - College freshman Reggie Dawson wants to design jumbo jets or Air Force fighters. But big plans carry hefty tuition bills, and he doesn't want his mother working two jobs to help him through school.

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“She makes a lot of sacrifices so I could be successful,” said the 19-year-old North Carolina State University student, who figures he'll take out up to $4,000 in student loans this year. “A lot of her money goes toward me. If I can get rid of these loans, I can really help her out.”

Gov. Mike Easley wants to try.

The Democrat has made creating a “seamless education system,” from pre-kindergarten through college, the hallmark of his time in office. He wants to end his tenure by making low-income students a promise found in no other state: earn a four-year degree without going into debt.

“You still have to work some and keep your grades up in order to keep our commitment,” Easley said recently. “But we are trying to get more kids to go to college and graduate from college.”

To do it, students would have to forgo the traditional experience of spending four years on a university campus. Instead, they would earn two years worth of college credit by spending an extra year in high school, then move into college for two years with annual grants of $4,000 - enough money to replace low-interest Stafford loans in the package of federal financial aid offered to low-income students.

Lawmakers have questions about the ultimate $100 million price tag for the grants, and whether the money might be better spent elsewhere, but university financial aid officers are excited about the prospect of Easley's proposal.

“We have a number of high-need students,” said Ray Solomon, the financial aid director at Winston-Salem State University, where 87 percent of the 5,800 students receive financial aid. Nearly all take out student loans.

The plan, dubbed the Educational Access Rewards North Carolina Scholars Program, comes as the cost of college continues to grow. The average annual tuition reached nearly $13,400 at campuses in the University of North Carolina system this school year, according to system data. The average debt incurred by an instate student who completes four or more years in college is $14,370.

While the flagship schools of UNC Chapel Hill and N.C. State University have large alumni bases to help with grants and scholarships, many other UNC system schools lack private funding to help their students stay out of debt.

Easley wants to eliminate the federal loan component in financial aid packages for 25,000 community college and UNC system students whose families makes up to twice the poverty rate. For a family of four, that's $41,300.

Easley's budget proposal this year also seeks the rapid expansion of a program that would allow students at all of North Carolina's 385 high schools to complete two years of college before stepping on campus.

“We'll be the first state in the country that will say to all these kids that you can go to college in North Carolina debt free,” Easley said.

State financial aid leaders estimate 13,000 university students and 12,000 community college students would qualify.

“It's a wonderful plan,” said Bart Astor, the director of the Washington-based National Association of State Student Grant Aid and Programs. He said the program would be the “first real statewide program designed specifically to offset the loan burden.”

Lawmakers have asked for more details about the grant program before deciding to put it in their state budget proposal. A preliminary budget document provided no money next year for the scholars program, or for expanding the Learn and Earn program online.

Learn and Earn already allows students to take college-level classes and earn a two-year associate's degree if they spend an extra year in high school. The program is available in only 35 high schools, but Easley has requested funding to expand it and offer online courses at every high school.

“We just want to see the nuts and bolts,” said Rep. Marian McLawhorn, D-Pitt, a House education budget-writer.

The General Assembly raised the amount of state financial aid available to undergraduates to $173 million this year, an increase of 57 percent compared to three years ago, according to the State Educational Assistance Authority.

The additional grants come as the buying power of federal Pell grants erode and college costs soar - even in North Carolina, where in-state tuition ranks among the lowest in public university systems.

However, saving some students from debt may not the best way to address the rising costs, said Senate Republican Leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham.

“Any student that is qualified to go to college and has the desire to go to college, we need to find a way to make sure they can go,” Berger said. “When I went to college I borrowed money, and had to pay it back. I actually think that's not necessarily a bad thing.”

The loan elimination program and online class expansion could be the final flourish for education from Easley, who is barred by state law from running for a third consecutive term as governor next year.

In his first term, Easley got the General Assembly to set aside money for the More at Four program, designed to prepare 4-year-olds for kindergarten, and to reduce class size in early grades. In his second term, lawmakers passed the state lottery to pay for those programs and approved funding Easley requested for middle school reading coaches.

“His track record is very good over here,” said McLawhorn, the legislative budget-writer.

Easley is now convinced that expanding college access is the best way to prepare North Carolina citizens for high-tech jobs, as the traditional state industries of textiles, furniture and tobacco fall by the wayside. “The knowledge level has to increase dramatically for us to maintain our lead in creativity and innovation,” he said. “And that is something that we cannot ignore.”