America Wakes Up From Its Dream of Free College
“It was the beginning of a wave. As the college affordability crisis reaches a fever pitch, and students have to take out more and more loans to obtain what is increasingly seen as a necessary credential, some leaders have stepped in to pick up some of the slack. There are more than 350 local and state college promise programs scattered across the country—California, for example, has 43—many of which are modeled after the Kalamazoo Promise program. Some are funded by the government, others, like Kalamazoo, through philanthropy. And the offerings tend to have the same goals: Increase college attainment rates, which in turn provide an economic bump to the area.”