As tuition rates at colleges and universities continue to increase, affordability remains a barrier for students looking to earn a postsecondary degree.
In an effort to reduce financial stresses, College Promise—a campaign aimed to eliminate the cost of tuition and fees—emerged.
Through a partnership with the Educational Testing Service (ETS) in 2019, College Promise worked to adjust the “one-size fits all” model to target more specific student populations.
As part of their “Depicting the Ecosystems of Support and Financial Sustainability for College Promise Populations” initiative, research teams designed College Promise programs to meet the financial needs of five groups including first-generation students, youth in or aged-out of foster care, students with disabilities, student-parents and students needing academic support.
After years of development, the teams presented their findings during the College Promise and ETS hosted “Expanding Promise Symposium,” that took place on Wednesday.
“We know there are many millions of these students that we are serving and we want to do a better job,” said Dr. Martha Kanter, CEO of College Promise. “We know that new financing models and strategies are sorely needed for promise programs and their partners to dramatically improve the transitions to, through and beyond college.”
Beginning with first-generation students, who represent 35% of undergraduate students within the United States, the research highlighted five barriers including return on investment, work and home commitments, culture capital and navigational skills, bureaucratic structures and disparities in educational attainment.
