Using the W.E. Upjohn Institute's Promise Programs Database--a searchable data set covering about 200 place-based scholarship programs--this paper explores how the design of Promise programs can shape their equity impacts. The authors first examine the landscape of place-based programs to understand the impact of program design on equity outcomes.…

This report provides a cost estimate for the first ten years of a Promise scholarship program for the Evart Public Schools (EPS) (Michigan) that would provide a flat rate ($2,500 per year for up to four years) middle dollar scholarship that covers remaining costs after Pell and TIP [Michigan Tuition Incentive Program] are awarded. The program…

In 2018, the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research launched a major research initiative into place-based strategies for local prosperity. Place-based strategies are nothing new. For decades, cities, regions, and states have sought to increase the number of jobs available to residents, expand their tax base, and promote amenities and…

This report provides a cost estimate for the first ten years of a Promise scholarship program for the Buchanan Community Schools (Michigan) patterned after the Kalamazoo Promise. Moreover, it presents a detailed outline of the method used in the calculation of the cost estimate. All the major assumptions and variables, as well as their sources,…

Can place-based college scholarships stimulate local prosperity? Research suggests that Promise programs can indeed contribute to revitalizing economically distressed communities. We argue that these scholarship programs, when leveraged effectively, can spawn a host of community benefits and serve as catalysts for economic and educational…

We argue that place-based college scholarships, if designed intentionally and leveraged effectively, can foster local economic development. Since the introduction of the Kalamazoo Promise in 2005, a growing number of communities have applied the place-based approach to investments in human capital through the creation of college scholarship…

What if every high school graduate of a given school district could go to college for free--not just those with good grades or financial need, but all of them? And what if this promise was guaranteed for decades? What kind of transformation might ensue, not just in the lives of the students themselves but in the communities that surround them?…

The Kalamazoo Promise, announced in 2005, is an innovative college-scholarship program available to every graduate of the Kalamazoo (Michigan) Public Schools. Programs such as the Kalamazoo Promise, which is being emulated in cities across the United States, open new avenues for the acquisition of human capital regardless of income level or…