How promising are college "promise programs"?

How promising are college "promise programs"?

The Detroit Promise is a program administered by the Detroit Regional Chamber that provides the city's high school graduates with scholarships for state-funded universities and community colleges. To encourage students to stay in school once enrolled and to improve their academic outcomes, the Chamber and MDRC partnered to create the "Detroit Promise Path." This initiative adds four components to the existing scholarship program: campus coaches who help students navigate academic and personal issues, monthly financial support contingent on meeting with coaches, enhanced summer engagement, and monitoring and messages informed by behavioral science through a management information system created by MDRC.

MDRC is evaluating the Detroit Promise Path using a randomized controlled trial design. In a new report, Alyssa Ratledge presents early findings from a pilot cohort of students who enrolled in fall 2016. According to the report:
  • The Detroit Promise Path was implemented with fidelity to the model and participation was high. More than 95 percent of students responded to coaches' outreach and two-thirds of enrolled students met with coaches as directed.
  • Students appreciate the program. Ninety-six percent of surveyed students who had been in contact with a coach said the program was "valuable" or "very valuable" to them.
  • The program had a sizable impact on enrollment in the second semester and on full-time enrollment in the first and second semesters.

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