For Immediate Release From College Promise!
What’s New at College Promise
Introducing the College Promise Learning Community (CPLC)
With support from The Kresge Foundation
https://kresge.org/, College Promise is pleased to announce the launch of the College Promise Learning Community (CPLC): Advancing Impact through Compelling Communication, a nationwide community of practice designed to support Promise program teams in strengthening how they communicate impact, results, and return on investment to funders, policymakers, students, and community stakeholders. Ten incredible Promise program teams were selected through a competitive application process that drew strong interest from programs nationwide. Insights will be shared through public webinars this fall. Read the full press release here
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/c... and stay tuned for further updates as this work advances.
Connecting Education & Workforce Systems to Engage Men 18-64
Too many men are stepping away from higher education before it can change their lives — and the systems meant to support them aren't built to work together. With support from Carnegie Corporation of New York
https://www.carnegie.org/, College Promise is partnering with leaders across four states to address this. Together, and building on College Promise's shift from college access to workforce alignment and career acceleration, we'll move beyond isolated interventions to develop the operational blueprints needed to inform larger federal and state investments — infrastructure the field needs and that this partnership is uniquely positioned to build. This is foundational work — built in four states and designed to scale nationally.
Bringing Student Parents into Focus Across Systems
Student parents are navigating education, work, childcare, housing, and public services simultaneously — yet most of these systems treat them as if they don't exist in the others. Many are already part of the workforce while earning their credentials, and represent significant potential to fill skilled positions once they complete them. With support from ECMC Foundation
https://www.ecmcfoundation.org/, College Promise is partnering with leaders across six states to establish student parents as a clearly recognized population across education, workforce, childcare, housing, and social services — and to build the cross-sector coordination needed to improve persistence, completion, and long-term economic mobility. The goal is to create a replicable model that can inform policy and investment in student parent success nationwide.
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Making Education Affordable In Sacramento Through The California College Promise
There are several pathways to pursue higher education in California. As tuition and living costs rise, families and students need to weigh the value of a college degree more carefully than ever. Choosing a college means considering all costs beyond tuition. Careful evaluation helps students and families plan effectively for more affordable higher education.
Xong Her, a Sacramento native, said that not going to college was never an option for her. She grew up in a family of 10 children, and is now one of three with a college education. Her parents are first-generation refugees from Laos, and while they didn’t have a formal education, they wanted their children to be educated.
“They didn’t have anything,” she said. Her was raised on public assistance and a family farm business that generated more work than money. Community college was already a “defined path” for Her because of her family’s financial circumstances.
Her’s parents couldn’t afford tuition. Community college was more affordable for Her and she was saving money by living at home. “My parents were dependent on me, and I didn’t want to go away.” Evaluating the true cost of college
On top of tuition, students and families must consider the cost of living and what support the school can offer students.
“Affordability is more than just tuition,” said Gina Browne, vice chancellor of Program Operations and Systems Initiative in the Program Operations and Strategic Planning Division of the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office.
“It’s about really ensuring that students don’t have to sacrifice their own basic needs to attend and succeed in college,” Browne said “Because if a student must choose between buying groceries [and] getting child care, then college isn’t truly affordable. So that’s where community colleges come in because the students we serve, as well as community colleges, have evolved. Today’s students are more likely to be working, supporting families, balancing all kinds of responsibilities.”
Browne elaborated on her own college journey starting at a University of California campus right out of high school.
“And like so many first generation and low-income students, I realized that being admitted wasn’t the same as being supported throughout. I didn’t have any financial or emotional support systems that were needed so I had to withdraw,” Browne said.
Browne then enrolled at a community college in Sacramento. The experience highlighted the need for wrap-around services for students like “counseling about affordability, [and] what institutions can offer students.”
It’s also critical that the school creates an environment for students to succeed. “Affordability means institutions also have a responsibility for connecting students to things like financial aid, basic needs support, and community resources so that students don’t have to navigate and figure this out on their own,” she said.
Browne’s own experiences inspired her to support and represent students during her tenure at Evergreen Valley College in San Jose, as well as with the California Student Aid Commission.
After 23 years supporting education, Browne’s leadership at the Chancellor’s Office gave her the “chance to be part of the largest system of higher education in the United States.”
“And what I do every day is I help colleges give [students] the guidance, the tools and the resources they need to support students along the way,” Browne said. “So, my motivations are simple.”
Read the full article HERE:
https://sacramento.newsreview.com/2026/02/... ********
Helping Student Parents Thrive In An Era of Unpredictable Federal Aid
Kela King had two children by the time she was 17 years old. She dropped out of high school, received her GED, and for 13 years has struggled to complete her college degree as a working mother.
When King, now 35 and a mother of three, failed two classes last year because she was focused on her children’s needs, she wondered if she was ever going to graduate. But with the support of the student parent success program at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee — which helped her navigate her studies while working — she hopes to walk across the stage in December 2026.
“I’m building this legacy,” King said. “Even if I don’t get to where I want to be, you’ll be able to see the legacy just in the building.”
For King and many other student parents, attending college can be a very tough road. Obstacles like financial stress, balancing coursework with family responsibilities and finding affordable, quality child care make it difficult for students raising children.
Parents make up about 18% of undergraduate students and 28% of graduate students according to SPARK
https://studentparentaction.org/about Collaborative
https://studentparentaction.org/assets/r-f... and
https://studentparentaction.org/assets/r-f... which provides research and resources for pregnant and parenting students. They represent a diverse population, including a significant share of single mothers
https://iwpr.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/0... first generation college students
https://iwpr.org/new-data-insights-on-stud... and individuals from low-income households
https://iwpr.org/new-data-insights-on-stud... Student parents face especially steep challenges and are more likely than those without children to leave college before completing their degrees
https://www.aecf.org/resources/supporting-... These students have unique needs, and a growing body of research points to actions that colleges and universities can take to help them flourish and graduate
https://www.newamerica.org/insights/basic-... and
https://ascend.aspeninstitute.org/wp-conte... Successful practices include: Offering child care on or near campus with financial assistance to cover or subsidize the cost; providing access to food and other basic necessities; building a student parent support center; and creating opportunities for peer community building.
There’s a key federal program — Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS)
https://www.newamerica.org/insights/what-l... — that helps colleges and universities support students like King by subsidizing child care and funding support services for student parents. But the program has come under threat recently. Last year, the federal government abruptly cut off CCAMPIS grants for about a dozen colleges that depend on the funding
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2... The future of the program’s funding has been precarious for some time, but in February, after facing potential elimination under the Trump administration for months, Congress approved the final 2026 federal budget, maintaining CCAMPIS funding at $75 million, the same as it was in 2025. This brought relief to some higher education institutions, but not for the colleges that saw their grants terminated.
Financial cuts to programs that support student parents will certainly hamper efforts to serve these students — especially through child care — but advocates say there are actions campus leaders can do to help them persist and thrive.
“Child care is huge, but it’s not the only thing that’s necessary for parenting students to be successful,” said Nicole Lynn Lewis, executive director of Generation Hope, a nonprofit that supports student parents in college. “We also want to see, across the institution, real intentionality around supporting these students. And sometimes that’s low hanging fruit at no cost or low cost.”
For example, if a higher education institution simply shows student parents in its marketing material, it would send a message “that I belong here,” she said.
While more research on outcomes is needed, said Theresa Anderson, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute, some small studies of individual institutions have shown that initiatives such as a student parent resource coordinator, regular peer meetings and monthly stipends help by increasing graduation rates and offering a return on investment for taxpayers. Anderson has also found in her research that parents who receive a college degree typically earn more than those of similar socioeconomic status without a degree, which suggests the importance of bolstering support for student parents.
The question for colleges and universities is how to translate research on what helps student parents thrive into reality — and in ways that suit their specific type of institution. About half of student parents attend community colleges, while 20% attend private, for-profit institutions and a combined 29% attend public or private nonprofit institutions, according to an analysis by the SPARK Collaborative. They tend to have as high or higher grade point averages than their non-parent peers, but they are also half as likely to graduate from college within six years than those peers.
Changing that dropout rate is one of the goals of Howard Community College in Columbia, Maryland. Over the past four years, it has stepped up its services for student parents. The institution’s progress includes big-ticket items such as reopening its child care facility — which closed during COVID — and starting a Parent Scholars Program that offers scholarships and wraparound services, including case management and academic coaching. Howard has also offered changes resulting in smaller, but still significant benefits, such as priority class registration.
For its efforts, the college last year was awarded a FamilyU Seal by Generation Hope. The seal, which the organization has given to 22 higher education institutions and nonprofits, recognizes “exemplary, measurable efforts in supporting parenting students.”
Celeste Ampaah, 23, and the mother of a 5-year old, said she first felt unseen on the Howard college campus. “I didn’t even know that there were any other parents on campus, especially people that were my age,” she said. And she wasn’t aware of the resources the college offered.
She was leery about letting her professors know she had a child, afraid it would seem like she was asking for special privileges or making excuses.
“I just stopped going to class if I had a hardship,” she said.
But that changed once she connected with Howard’s resources for student parents and became a parent scholar. Now she proudly carries the backpack that proclaims “Student Parent” below the Howard logo and reaches out to other parents.
Read the full article HERE:
https://www.the74million.org/zero2eight/he... ********
University of Cincinnati Announces New Grant Providing Free Tuition For Students In Families Making Under $75K
CINCINNATI — The University of Cincinnati announced a new grant that will help low-income students attend the school with free tuition, according to a press release from the university.
UC announced Wednesday that the Bearcat Affordability Grant had been created to provide a pathway to tuition-free college for qualifying students.
Beginning in the fall of 2026, students of families who make less than $75,000 per year will be able to access the grant. The grant will cover the remaining cost of tuition for Ohio residents who are Pell eligible, according to the university's announcement.
"This grant program will be transformational for students, families and for this region," said Jack Miner, vice provost for enrollment management, in a press release. "Despite their dreams and years of hard work, college is just out of reach for so many students and families. This grant will make dreams a reality for literally thousands of students."
The Bearcat Affordability Grant will be open to freshmen students who are admitted to begin classes in the fall of 2026 and is open to all three of UC's regional campuses. The university's announcement says the goal is to ensure opportunities for students and help build a strong workforce in southwestern Ohio.
"The Bearcat Affordability Grant strengthens families and communities across Ohio, from our largest cities to our rural regions," said UC President Neville Pinto in the press release. "By removing financial barriers and expanding access to a UC education, we are prepmany more students to enter high-demand fields and contribute to a workforce that keeps our state competitive. This is an investment not only in individual students, but in Ohio's long-term prosperity and the employers who depend on a strong, steady talent pipeline."
Read the full article HERE:
https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/unive... ********
Texarkana Promise Removes Barriers To College Education
EXARKANA, Texas (KTAL/KMSS) – Texarkana College has announced a new scholarship program called Texarkana Promise.
“Anybody you talk to has run into someone in their life that said, ‘yeah, I wanted to go to college, but I couldn’t afford it,” says Texarkana College Vice President of Instruction, Dixon Boyles. “How heartbreaking that is that they weren’t able to take the advantage of the educational opportunities that we have in this country, and the Promise Scholarship will hopefully prevent that from happening.”
The scholarship will cover all tuition costs after other financial aid is applied. It is available to eligible high school students enrolled in dual-enrollment programs. It can also apply to those seeking credentials or a degree at Texarkana College.
Read the full article HERE:
https://www.ktalnews.com/news/texarkana-ne... ********
As we stand on the cusp of major labor market changes, it's pivotal that students are prepared. Our recent policy brief explores these growing changes, the skills necessary to navigate them, and how #PromisePrograms are well-positioned to ensure students are ready for jobs that don't yet exist.
Read more about it here:
https://bit.ly/4byCTrV ********
Check out our policy brief examining #PromisePrograms across the nation that are helping make the transition from college to career seamless. From embedding career services at the start of college to providing access to professional networks, Promise programs can help connect students' interests with economically prosperous pathways.
Read more about it here:
https://bit.ly/4qY9FHR ********
College Promise Selects 10 Teams to Strengthen Promise Program Communications
College Promise announced the launch of the College Promise Learning Community (CPLC): Advancing Impact through Compelling Communication, a nationwide community of practice designed to support Promise program teams in strengthening how they communicate impact, results, and return on investment to funders, policymakers, students, and community stakeholders.
Ten Promise program teams were selected through a competitive application process that drew strong interest from programs nationwide. The selected teams represent a range of institutional contexts, geographies, and student populations. The 10 teams represented in the CPLC include:
Birmingham Promise
Community College of Rhode Island | Rhode Island Promise
Detroit Promise
Flint Promise
Los Angeles Community College District | LA College Promise
Say Yes Buffalo
Seattle Colleges | Seattle Promise
South Texas College Valley Promise
University of Hawai'i Community College System | Hawai'i Promise
Yavapai College | Yavapai College Promise
Through a series of structured learning sessions, peer exchange, and applied collaboration running from February through June 2026, participants will engage around shared challenges and promising practices in the field to build organizational capacity to communicate impact with greater clarity and confidence to diverse stakeholders.
"We are honored to bring together this community of leaders who are deeply committed to student success," said Rosye Cloud, interim CEO of College Promise. "The College Promise Learning Community creates space for honest learning, collaboration, and collective problem-solving—grounded in the changing landscape that programs are navigating every day. Our goal is to move from discussion to action as teams apply new practices to advance their strategic priorities."
Following the learning community, College Promise will share insights in fall 2026 through a publicly available webinar series focused on practical communication tools and strategies that can be adapted and scaled across program contexts and institutions.
"Our investment in the College Promise Learning Community is rooted in the belief that a diverse, connected field is essential to advancing student success and economic mobility," said Ashley Johnson, Program Officer at The Kresge Foundation. "This cohort reflects the breadth of the Promise movement and brings together a powerful range of perspectives that will strengthen how the field tells its story and shares impact. We are grateful to all of the programs that applied and are excited to continue learning alongside this community."
The CPLC builds on College Promise's ongoing commitment to provide capacity building to Promise leaders, programs, and institutions that support student success by sharing scalable insights and best practices and building broad public support for the Promise movement nationwide. The initiative is made possible through support from The Kresge Foundation.
Read the full article HERE:
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/c... ********
The Career Acceleration Playbook is here to support Promise leaders and practitioners working at the intersection of higher education and the workforce.
Inside, you’ll find actionable strategies to deepen partnerships between students, institutions, and employers — all with the goal of supporting persistence, completion, and long-term economic mobility. Whether you’re refining an existing program or building new workforce connections, this playbook offers tools to help align your efforts with student success.
Access the Career Acceleration Playbook here!
https://bit.ly/4b2yqvy ****
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Saturday, March 14th 2026 at 1:13PM
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