Beginning with the announcement of the Kalamazoo Promise in 2005, the Upjohn Institute has been tracking the emergence of Promise programs in communities around the nation. This material was available on our website in tabular form for many years. As the Promise movement has grown and variations in program structure have emerged, the Institute has sought to categorize and classify Promise programs by their various attributes. This database, which currently includes 220 entries, including a generic entry for California College Promise programs, is a product of our data collection and analysis efforts. By providing data and analytical tools in an interactive, searchable format, we hope to make it easier for stakeholders, policymakers, media, researchers, and other interested individuals to learn about the Promise movement in its many different forms. The full database is available on request by writing to promisedatabase@upjohn.org

In compiling this database, we use a definition we have developed based on our research. Promise scholarship programs, a term often used synonymously with place-based scholarship programs, are geographically bounded, and often include an enrollment and/or residency requirement for length of attendance within a school district or eligible entity. Because of this enrollment requirement, Promise programs function as early awareness programs. Families and children know upon entering a Promise community that scholarship resources will be available to them years down the road. Promise programs seek to transform places, as well as individuals, and as such require community support from multiple stakeholders representing diverse sectors.

Programs in this database fit into one of two categories. Community-based programs are those emanating from local leaders working together across sectors to expand college access for people in their communities and transform their local economies and/or school districts. Institution-based programs originate with community colleges that have made attendance tuition free, building on preexisting federal and—in some cases—state aid. California has seen rapid growth in its tuition-free community college offerings, and many of the newer programs are covered by a generic California College Promise entry in this version of the database.

Scholarship programs that do not fit these categories are not included here. We thus exclude statewide programs like the Tennessee Promise that bear many similarities to local Promise programs, as well as an earlier generation of statewide merit-based programs, such as Georgia HOPE. Also excluded are college access programs that do not have a scholarship component or that are not yet actively granting scholarships. (We do separately track many statewide programs, though, so feel free to inquire at promisedatabase@upjohn.org.)

If you know about or work with a program that you believe should be included in our database, please let us know. We can be reached by email at promisedatabase@upjohn.org.

The data used here have been compiled primarily from information provided on the websites of individual Promise programs. We have also consulted print sources, such as newspaper articles and publications of Promise programs.

The Upjohn Institute seeks to ensure that this database is comprehensive, accurate, and timely. If you believe that a program should be added to the database or want to update or edit information for an existing program, please let us know at promisedatabase@upjohn.org.

The multiple functions of the interactive website include the following. You can:

• Generate profiles of individual Promise programs
• Compare up to three programs at once by viewing their key characteristics side by side
• Search for programs by certain characteristics, including the year established, the state in which they are located, the type of funder, if there are financial need or academic merit requirements, the scope of post-secondary institutions where the scholarship may be used, and two measures we have developed – saturation and intensity (see below)

You can specify multiple fields to target your search, or you can browse the entire database. Nearly 100 variables are covered in the full database, including many that are not available in the interactive browser. A comprehensive list of variables covered and their definitions, as well as sources of data, can be accessed here. A glossary of common terms used in Promise research can be found here.

The interactive browser version of the database is an open access resource. The entire database—which provides more detail than is available in the interactive browser version—is also freely available upon request at promisedatabase@upjohn.org. Before having access to the full database, you will be asked to provide your name and contact information, and a brief description of your use of the database; you may then use the data in your research, provided you acknowledge the source (see below).

Why yes!

There is also a comprehensive list of variables covered; their definitions, as well as sources of data, can be downloaded as well.

Saturation refers to the proportion of a school district’s students likely to be eligible for the scholarship. Several indicators are combined to create an index that is converted to high, medium, and low categories. The specific indicators used include whether there are income, attendance, residency, merit, and/or other requirements; and, if there are academic merit requirements (such as a GPA cutoff), how restrictive they are. The higher the Saturation indicator, the more likely are detectable impacts in the K-12 system and community. Intensity and Saturation together will determine not only the expected magnitude of impacts but also the extent to which impacts are likely to be felt broadly across different groups of students.

Intensity refers to the size of the incentive created by the scholarship program. Several indicators are combined to create an index that is converted to high, medium, and low categories. The specific indicators used include the type of scholarship (first v. last dollar), whether the scholarship covers non-tuition expenses, the number of years of scholarship benefits, the number and type of post-secondary institutions covered by the scholarship, and the dollar value of the annual maximum possible award. The higher the Intensity indicator, the more likely the scholarship is to drive changes in student behavior. Intensity and Saturation together will determine not only the expected magnitude of impacts but also the extent to which impacts are likely to be felt broadly across different groups of students.

We welcome updates and corrections to the database. We update the database annually. Please contact us at promisedatabase@upjohn.org with any updates or corrections.

Miller-Adams, Michelle, Brad Hershbein, Bridget Timmeney, Isabel McMullen, and Kyle Huisman. 2023. Promise Programs Database. Kalamazoo, MI: W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, Promise: Investing in Community. Available at:   www.upjohn.org/promise/database.

The full Promise Database is available as an Excel file for research purposes. To request access to this file, or if you have any questions about the database, please contact us at promisedatabase@upjohn.org. We ask that you please cite the Upjohn Institute as the source in any published products based on the database.