This weekend, the New York Times Magazine had a story on the Kalamazoo Promise. Some anonymous philanthropists in the city of Kalamazoo, Michigan have offered to pay tuition for any graduate of Kalamazoo’s public high schools for any public university or community college in Michigan – including the University of Michigan, one of the country’s top public universities. It’s an amazing program that has had the effect of reducing flight out of Kalamazoo, forcing suburban school districts to up their game, and encouraging families and teachers in Kalamazoo to take college preparation seriously. The project was conceived more as economic development than as charity, too. After all, an educated workforce is more attractive to employers and more likely to start interesting new businesses.
The Times reported that the average tuition for a Kalamazoo Promise participant is $4,200 per year, with 500 people signing up in a typical graduation year. Not all of them continue their education (room and board are not covered), but that puts the cost at somewhere around $2 million per year. I’m guessing that most of the families in Kalamazoo would quality for financial aid, but the application process can be daunting. The Kalamazoo Promise makes the possibility of college more real for students and families in the city, and that alone has value.
For decades, the California state university system and the City College of New York offered free tuition to residents. Neither can do that anymore, and it’s too bad. One wonders if the economic vitality of New York City and of the state of California were tied to that, and what will happen next.
Still, the Kalamazoo Promise is inspiring, and it would be great if philanthropists in other communities could get together to endow similar programs. Whoever the donors in Kalamazoo are, they deserve great praise.
And, hey, if you are concerned about paying for college, you can move to Kalamazoo!
