This fall, Alamo Colleges District will start phase one of its new AlamoPROMISE program by recruiting high school students to receive funding from the free tuition program.
New Free Tuition Program
Alamo Colleges District To Start New Program This Fall
This fall, Alamo Colleges District will start phase one of its new AlamoPROMISE program at 25 San Antonio High Schools by recruiting the high concentration of poverty seniors to receive funding from the free tuition program in the fall of 2020. In the following year, seniors from Bexar County’s remaining high schools will be recruited.
The goal of the program is to make college affordable to everyone in Bexar County, boosting San Antonio’s low college-going rate and filling a need for more skilled labor. According to the district’s analysis of state data, 49% of San Antonio high school graduates enroll in a Texas college or university, but only 33% earn a degree.
The district hopes to increase college enrollment to 70% by 2025.
“We’ve always had the value of inclusive growth, but now we have a very strong economic argument,” said Bob McKinley, vice chancellor for economic and workforce development. “We know that what holds back our students are two main factors: affordability and accessibility. And what are the answers? Our one-two punch from a policy standpoint on affordability is PROMISE.”
Alamo Colleges predicts 90% of the cost of the program to be supported by state and federal grants during the first year, since most of the students in the first phase will qualify for the Pell grant and other forms of income-based financial aid.
Support from local government and other groups will be more critical as the program reaches more middle class families. AlamoPROMISE fills in the gap after other scholarships and grants are applied to the cost of tuition.
Alamo Colleges has $450,000 in pledged support for PROMISE so far, mostly from Frost Bank, Wells Fargo and JP Morgan Chase.
Grants development director Stephanie Vasquez said Alamo Colleges wants to provide a clear message to students: “If you want to pursue higher education, if you are interested in social mobility for yourself and your family, we will support you.”
The PROMISE program will need almost $27 million dollars from local sources over the next five years to fund scholarships and will generate $95 million in revenue from state and federal grants.
Read more at https://www.tpr.org/post/alamo-colleges-board-approves-launch-alamopromise-25-high-schools
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