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Full-Text Articles in Education Economics

The Columbus Promise: Three-Year Pilot Evaluation Report, Michelle Miller-Adams, Kyle Huisman, Kevin Hollenbeck, Bridget Timmeney Sep 2026

The Columbus Promise: Three-Year Pilot Evaluation Report, Michelle Miller-Adams, Kyle Huisman, Kevin Hollenbeck, Bridget Timmeney

Reports

The Columbus Promise is a place-based, tuition-free college program designed to expand postsecondary access and economic mobility for graduates of Columbus City Schools. Launched with the high school class of 2022, the three-year pilot provides tuition support at Columbus State Community College (CSCC), a $500-per-semester stipend, and dedicated coaching and academic services. This evaluation, conducted by the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, examines outcomes for all three cohorts (2022, 2023, and 2024), using administrative data, a comparison group of Columbus City Schools graduates from 2017–2021, regression-adjusted estimates of academic outcomes, and a synthetic difference-in-differences analysis of overall college enrollment. Findings …


20 Years Of The Kalamazoo Promise: A Visual Guide To Selected Highlights, Kathleen Bolter Aug 2026

20 Years Of The Kalamazoo Promise: A Visual Guide To Selected Highlights, Kathleen Bolter

Reports

No abstract provided.


Bearcat Advantage: Year Two Evaluation Report, Michelle Miller-Adams, Kyle Huisman, Bridget Timmeney, Kevin Hollenbeck Jun 2026

Bearcat Advantage: Year Two Evaluation Report, Michelle Miller-Adams, Kyle Huisman, Bridget Timmeney, Kevin Hollenbeck

Reports

No abstract provided.


Solving Affordability Challenges In Education, Housing And Childcare, Brad J. Hershbein, Michelle Miller-Adams, Brian J. Asquith, Chloe R. Gibbs May 2026

Solving Affordability Challenges In Education, Housing And Childcare, Brad J. Hershbein, Michelle Miller-Adams, Brian J. Asquith, Chloe R. Gibbs

Presentations

These three presentations emphasize that affordability challenges across education, housing, and childcare stem from structural market and policy frictions, and that effective solutions require coordinated public investment, simplified systems, and attention to both supply and demand. The first presentation argues that while college tuition growth has slowed and aid has increased, affordability challenges persist due to complexity, misperceptions, and uneven costs, and it advocates for simple tuition-free programs combined with investments in advising, streamlined pathways, and stronger school-to-work connections. The second presentation highlights a growing housing affordability crisis in the Rust Belt driven by aging housing stock and limited supply, …


Flex, Pivot, Sustain: Adaptive Design Of Promise Programs, Michelle Miller-Adams, Jennifer Iriti Mar 2026

Flex, Pivot, Sustain: Adaptive Design Of Promise Programs, Michelle Miller-Adams, Jennifer Iriti

Reports

The design of a Promise program or place-based college scholarship requires community partners to make three key decisions: 1) Which students are eligible, 2) Where can students use the scholarship?, and 3) How should the scholarship be structured? Changes in available funding may affect all three decisions. This practice brief, developed in conjunction with the Kresge Foundation, lays out key principles for redesigning Promise programs when available funding changes, providing three case study examples to illustrate how program officials navigated redesign choices.


How College Affordability Has Changed For Different Families, Peter Hinrichs May 2025

How College Affordability Has Changed For Different Families, Peter Hinrichs

Employment Research Newsletter

No abstract provided.


Bearcat Advantage: Year One Evaluation Report, Michelle Miller-Adams, Kevin Hollenbeck, Bridget Timmeney, Kyle Huisman Apr 2025

Bearcat Advantage: Year One Evaluation Report, Michelle Miller-Adams, Kevin Hollenbeck, Bridget Timmeney, Kyle Huisman

Reports

No abstract provided.


How College Affordability Has Changed For Different Families, Peter Hinrichs Apr 2025

How College Affordability Has Changed For Different Families, Peter Hinrichs

Upjohn Institute Policy and Research Briefs

No abstract provided.


How Much Can Families Afford To Pay For College?, Peter Hinrichs Apr 2025

How Much Can Families Afford To Pay For College?, Peter Hinrichs

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

This paper studies families’ capacity to pay for college in the United States, focusing on changes over time and differences by race and socioeconomic status. I use data from the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS) to document changes over time in the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) from the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The results suggest that the EFC has been rising over time, and that this has been driven primarily by families in the upper quartile of the income distribution. I then use data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) to calculate alternative measures …


The Columbus Promise: Year Two Evaluation Report, Michelle Miller-Adams, Kevin Hollenbeck, Bridget Timmeney, Kyle Huisman Apr 2025

The Columbus Promise: Year Two Evaluation Report, Michelle Miller-Adams, Kevin Hollenbeck, Bridget Timmeney, Kyle Huisman

Reports

No abstract provided.


The Columbus Promise: Year One Evaluation Report, Michelle Miller-Adams, Kevin Hollenbeck, Bridget Timmeney, Kyle Huisman Apr 2024

The Columbus Promise: Year One Evaluation Report, Michelle Miller-Adams, Kevin Hollenbeck, Bridget Timmeney, Kyle Huisman

Reports

No abstract provided.


Behind The Numbers: Comparing College-Going Outcomes Of Kalamazoo Public Schools To Those Of Similar Urban School Districts In Michigan, Kathleen Bolter, Brad J. Hershbein Oct 2023

Behind The Numbers: Comparing College-Going Outcomes Of Kalamazoo Public Schools To Those Of Similar Urban School Districts In Michigan, Kathleen Bolter, Brad J. Hershbein

Reports

No abstract provided.


The Promise Landscape In Michigan, Michelle Miller-Adams Oct 2020

The Promise Landscape In Michigan, Michelle Miller-Adams

Presentations

No abstract provided.


Promise Programs, Emergency Aid, And Strategies For College Retention, Brad J. Hershbein Feb 2018

Promise Programs, Emergency Aid, And Strategies For College Retention, Brad J. Hershbein

Presentations

No abstract provided.


Student Loans And The Dynamics Of Debt, Brad J. Hershbein Editor, Kevin Hollenbeck Editor Jan 2015

Student Loans And The Dynamics Of Debt, Brad J. Hershbein Editor, Kevin Hollenbeck Editor

Upjohn Press

The papers included in this volume represent the most current research and knowledge available about student loans and repayment. It serves as a valuable reference for researchers and policymakers who seek a deeper understanding of how, why, and which students borrow for their postsecondary education; how this borrowing may affect later decisions; and what measures can help borrowers repay their loans successfully.


College Costs: Students Can't Afford Not To Know, Brad J. Hershbein, Kevin Hollenbeck Apr 2014

College Costs: Students Can't Afford Not To Know, Brad J. Hershbein, Kevin Hollenbeck

External Papers and Reports

No abstract provided.


Cost Estimate Of A Promise Scholarship Program For The City Of Jacksonville, Illinois, George Erickcek Oct 2013

Cost Estimate Of A Promise Scholarship Program For The City Of Jacksonville, Illinois, George Erickcek

Reports

No abstract provided.


A Second Look At Enrollment Changes After The Kalamazoo Promise, Brad J. Hershbein Jul 2013

A Second Look At Enrollment Changes After The Kalamazoo Promise, Brad J. Hershbein

Employment Research Newsletter

No abstract provided.


Estimation Of The Proposed Mckinney Scholarship Programs, George A. Erickcek Apr 2013

Estimation Of The Proposed Mckinney Scholarship Programs, George A. Erickcek

Reports

No abstract provided.


Cost Estimate For A Two-Year Beloit Promise, George A. Erickcek Apr 2013

Cost Estimate For A Two-Year Beloit Promise, George A. Erickcek

Reports

This report provides a cost-estimate of a two-year universal, place-based scholarship program for the School District of Beloit. The scholarship could be used at any technical two-year public college in Wisconsin. The cost estimates of a first-dollar and middle-dollar scholarship program, which would require students to complete their FAFSA, are provided to the year 2023. This report is based on modifying an impact model constructed by the Upjohn Institute for the School District of Beloit to estimate the potential fiscal impact of a four-year scholarship program.


Estimation Of The Cost Of An Oregon Promise, George A. Erickcek Apr 2013

Estimation Of The Cost Of An Oregon Promise, George A. Erickcek

Reports

This report offers an estimate of the cost of a statewide scholarship program for the State of Oregon that has a similar program structure as the existing Kalamazoo Promise. It is assumed that the proposed Oregon scholarship program would begin in the fall of 2013, and the full cost of the scholarship would not occur until 2016 when four years of scholarship-eligible students are enrolled in college. This report includes estimates on the scholarship costs, as well as, costs associated with administering the scholarship program.


The Short-Term Effects Of The Kalamazoo Promise Scholarship On Student Outcomes, Timothy J. Bartik, Marta Lachowska Aug 2012

The Short-Term Effects Of The Kalamazoo Promise Scholarship On Student Outcomes, Timothy J. Bartik, Marta Lachowska

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

In order to study whether college scholarships can be an effective tool in raising students’ performance in secondary school, we use one aspect of the Kalamazoo Promise that resembles a quasi-experiment. The surprise announcement of the scholarship created a large change in expected college tuition costs that varied across different groups of students based on past enrollment decisions. This variation is arguably exogenous to unobserved student characteristics. We estimate the effects of this change by a set of “difference-in-differences” regressions where we compare the change in student outcomes in secondary school across time for different student “length of enrollment” groups. …


Ten-Year Cost Estimation Of A Proposed Lansing Promise Scholarship, George A. Erickcek Apr 2012

Ten-Year Cost Estimation Of A Proposed Lansing Promise Scholarship, George A. Erickcek

Reports

No abstract provided.


Getting Started: How Much Is This Thing Going To Cost?, George A. Erickcek Nov 2011

Getting Started: How Much Is This Thing Going To Cost?, George A. Erickcek

Presentations

No abstract provided.


Mapping The Promise: Critical Pathways, Randall W. Eberts Mar 2011

Mapping The Promise: Critical Pathways, Randall W. Eberts

Presentations

No abstract provided.


The Kalamazoo Promise, And Enrollment And Achievement Trends In Kalamazoo Public Schools, Timothy J. Bartik, Randall W. Eberts, Wei-Jang Huang Oct 2010

The Kalamazoo Promise, And Enrollment And Achievement Trends In Kalamazoo Public Schools, Timothy J. Bartik, Randall W. Eberts, Wei-Jang Huang

Conference Papers

This paper examines three types of KPS trends that may represent Promise effects: 1) trends in overall enrollment, 2) trends in relative enrollment by ethnic group, and 3) trends in KPS achievement on the standardized test used by the state of Michigan for No Child Left Behind accountability, the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) test.


The Kalamazoo Promise: Building Assets For Community Change, Michelle Miller-Adams Oct 2010

The Kalamazoo Promise: Building Assets For Community Change, Michelle Miller-Adams

Presentations

No abstract provided.


Can Universal, Place-Based Scholarships Reduce Inequality? Lessons From Kalamazoo, Michigan, Michelle Miller-Adams Oct 2010

Can Universal, Place-Based Scholarships Reduce Inequality? Lessons From Kalamazoo, Michigan, Michelle Miller-Adams

Conference Papers

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 academic achievement, while facilitating the creation of new economic and social assets for the community. Following a brief explanation of the program itself, this paper examines the Kalamazoo Promise as a human capital-investment strategy and its potential as a mechanism for reducing inequality. I find that the Kalamazoo Promise …


What's New? What's Not? The Kalamazoo Promise In The Context Of Other Scholarship Programs, Michelle Miller-Adams Oct 2010

What's New? What's Not? The Kalamazoo Promise In The Context Of Other Scholarship Programs, Michelle Miller-Adams

Presentations

No abstract provided.


The La Crosse Promise: Economic Impact Study, George A. Erickcek Sep 2010

The La Crosse Promise: Economic Impact Study, George A. Erickcek

Reports

The Upjohn Institute conducted an economic impact study of a universal, place-based scholarship program for La Crosse, Wisconsin. This study examines the possibility of developing a program similar to the Kalamazoo Promise for the La Crosse area. The La Crosse area is facing a population decline, growing concentrations of low-income students, an aging infrastructure in the region’s largest school district, and regional sprawl that is consuming farmland and natural assets while creating new challenges of congestion and service delivery. As a response to these issues, this study explores the potential impact of a universal, place-based scholarship program.