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…

As the national debate about the prospect of free community college continues, state and local College Promise programs continue to expand with a mix of public and private funding aimed to provide debt-free education to students, usually gaining bipartisan support. Most states aim their programs at full-time students and/or recent high school…

Many students have concerns about the affordability of college, which may interfere with their potential success. However, foster care alumni have unique needs when making the transition into postsecondary enrollment. Compared to completion rates for the general population, postsecondary education outcomes for youth with foster care experience lag…

The Assessing Tuition- and Debt-Free Higher Education Task Force was convened in July 2016. Charged by the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators's (NASFAA's) Board of Directors with evaluating the existing landscape of state and local promise programs with a focus on scaling such models to the national level, the task force…

Many states are passing "free" college plans, and policymakers at both the state and federal level continue to debate the merits of national "free college" or "debt-free college" proposals, also known as Promise programs. Both federal and state "free" college proposals are geared toward a policy objective of…

In 2005, Kalamazoo, Michigan launched a bold and innovative economic development strategy, The Kalamazoo Promise (KP), which guarantees tuition to every high school graduate in the district. Since KP inception, high school enrollments are up and college attendance has increased, creating national attention. This paper analyzes the benefits and…

Many states are experimenting with mechanisms for making college more affordable while maintaining quality and access. This report examines promising or innovative state programs to improve college affordability and credential attainment. Many of these approaches show innovative thinking and bear watching to see if they result in meaningful…

An appellate court found that Michigan's popular prepaid college tuition program is not subject to federal income taxes, reversing an earlier decision. The program, considered a model for other states, was suspended in 1991 due to fund depletion from tax payments. The Internal Revenue Service is considering an appeal. (MSE)

Information is presented on the three prepaid tuition programs and four college savings bond programs currently in operation in the United States, and the fiscal issues involved in their implementation are summarized. The three prepaid tuition programs are in Michigan, Wyoming, and Florida. The characteristics of the three programs are outlined…

This bulletin describes types of prepayment and savings plans for financing college education, outlines advantages and disadvantages of these programs, and highlights issues that state and institutional planners and policymakers should consider. A description of existing tuition prepayment plans looks at state plans that typically permit investors…

A Missouri proposal that parents be allowed to set up special savings accounts for their children's college education that would be exempt from state income tax is described. It is compared to a plan in Michigan that allows parents to prepay tuition at colleges in the state. (MLW)

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will not ask the Supreme Court to review a lower court's decision to exempt the Michigan Education Trust from federal income taxes. The state college tuition prepayment plan was discontinued in 1991 due to legal challenges but promised to honor its commitments to 55,000 participants. The program may now be…

The statistical tables in this annual report cover four basic areas of Michigan Department of Education Student Financial Assistance Services for 1973-74. Part 1 covers the Guaranteed Student Loan Program (review of operations, program status report, collections summary, outstanding loans, characteristics of student borrowers); Part 2 contains…

This report examined state tuition prepayment programs (STPPs) in Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wyoming, focusing on how the programs operate and the participation rates they have achieved. It also assessed the income level of program participants, options for increasing the participation of lower-income families, and…

This case study, part of the State Structures for the Governance of Higher Education study, focuses on governance and related issues in Michigan's higher education system. The study's overall purpose was to examine differences among states in their governance structures, and to determine if differences in performance were related to governing…