Modeling First Year Stop Out of Kalamazoo Promise Scholars: Mapping Influences of Socioeconomic Advantage and Pre-College Performance to College Performance and Persistence

The Kalamazoo Promise (KPromise) is amongst the most well-known and generous tuition-free policies. This study advances the understanding of Promise student performance and persistence. We used a weighted-least square means and variance adjusted (WLSMV) SEM approach and k-nearest neighbors (k-NN) to deal with missing data. The main model suggested first-year college GPA (β = –.48) possessed the strongest effect on a first-year stop out followed by socioeconomic advantage (β = –.26), high school performance (β = –.25), immediate enrollment (β = –.22), and KPromise funding (β =.06). Model differences from 06–10 and 11–15 cohorts, illustrate that in the later cohorts socioeconomic advantage’s effect on a first-year stop out lessened.

Sometimes a Long and Winding Road: An Exploration of Kalamazoo Promise Stop Out and Reenrollment

This exploratory, descriptive study examined trends associated with Kalamazoo Promise (KPromise) student stop out, reenrollment, and persistence to a credential upon reenrollment. For the 2006–2017 cohorts, 78% were retained from first to second year. Inferential models suggested that first-year stop out was mainly correlated to students’ high school free-and-reduced lunch eligibility (FRL) and high-school GPA. Forty-five percent of stopped out students reenrolled, and reenrollment was primarily correlated with time. The median time to return was 3 non-summer semesters, with Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino(a) students predicted to reenroll in fewer semesters than White students. For the 2006–2012 cohorts, 30% of all stopped out students who reenrolled have earned a degree to date. Upon reenrollment, nearly half of all postsecondary certifications were earned by FRL students. Discussion links our findings to wider trends, highlights actions to bolster outcomes, and illustrates how this study could be a benchmark comparison for other tuition-free policies.

Bridge of Promise: Comparing the Academic Outcomes of Kalamazoo Promise to Public School Students in a 4-Year Institution

This study compares Kalamazoo Promise (KPromise) students to non-Promise, public high school graduating students at a 4-year institution. The final sample for this study was N=9,969; n = 310 (3%) were KPromise students. Descriptive analysis suggests that KPromise students were racially more diverse and less affluent than non-Promise students. Unweighted regressions show that being a KPromise student was correlated with lower college GPA, increased chance of Academic Dismissal, and lowered likelihood of Degree Attainment. Weighting the sample using Inverse Probability Weighing with Regression Adjustment (IPWRA), being a KPromise student was not correlated to any examined outcomes. However, we were unable to generate a suitably similar comparison sample with the variables we could access. Overall, the Kalamazoo Promise allows students to access the university who are so different from the comparison population that it interferes with standard approaches to assessing outcomes. Discussion centers on descriptive differences and highlights the need for better student-level data.

Conversing With Kalamazoo Promise Scholars: An Inquiry Into the Beliefs, Motivations, and Experiences of Tuition-Free College Students

This qualitative inquiry explores students’ ( N=20) perceptions of Kalamazoo Promise (KPromise), how perceptions influence student motivation, and by what means students are covering remaining costs. Responses indicated deep appreciation of KPromise, built through community efforts. Perceptions of KPromise have developed into strong motivation to perform and in times of underperformance drove guilt. As KPromise scholars assume uncovered costs, most are doing so via work. Half of the participants possess student loan debt, mostly to pay for larger up-front costs or emergencies. KPromise students still expeience financial distress; however, when put into context with non-Promise peers, these students recognize how KPromise eases such. Discussion centers on using this research in giving voice to students within tuition-free discourse and in helping institutional stakeholders better understand tuition-free students’ experiences.