Thread: San Diego Promise offers free college tuition to high school graduates

San Diego Promise offers free college tuition to high school graduates

June 11, 2018
Ed Lenderman

The San Diego Community College District is offering free tuition to high school graduates through their “San Diego Promise” program.

Ed Lenderman spoke to Chancellor Constance Carroll about the program.

District Chancellor Constance Carroll, San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, and San Diego Unified Superintendent Cindy Marten will host a news conference to announce that all first-time, full-time students will be eligible to attend district colleges for two years tuition-free.

Launched as a pilot program in 2016 with 186 students, the San Diego Promise is expected to serve approximately 3,500 local students in 2018-19 at City, Mesa and Miramar colleges. Information will be shared on how students can enroll.

The San Diego Promise is intended to ensure that no deserving local students are denied the opportunity to go to college due to lack of resources.

The San Diego Promise is modeled after similar programs in California and across the country aimed at reducing student debt and increasing student success.

With the passage of Assembly Bill 19 in 2017, California community colleges now have access to funding which allows them to offer a free first year of college.

The San Diego Promise will combine that with local fundraising efforts to provide two years of tuition-free education for all first-time, full-time students who maintain a 2.0 GPA.

http://www.kusi.com/san-diego-promis...ool-graduates/

Making It In San Diego: Community colleges offer free tuition to San Diego students

Promise San Diego Scholarship expands to all grads

Jared Aarons6:50 AM, Jun 11, 2018
2 hours ago

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SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - All three schools in the San Diego Community College District will offer free tuition to first-time, full-time graduates of any high school in San Diego County.

The Promise San Diego scholarship will pay for up to 3,500 students starting in the fall of 2018. That's a huge expansion of the program's initial offering, which gave tuition to 186 students as part of a pilot program in 2016.

"The real power of the Promise program is that it tells every student who's in junior high or high school that they can go to college and the finances are not going to be a challenge for them," says Jack Beresford, a District Spokesman.

District Chancellor Constance Carroll, San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and San Diego Unified Superintendent Cindy Marten will announce the expansion at a news conference Monday morning.

The program pairs with the recently passed State Assembly Bill 19. That pays for one year of community college for all California students. The Promise San Diego program funds the second year.

To offset the costs, the District will hold a fundraising gala this September, featuring actress Annette Benning, a Mesa College alum. They plan to raise $1.3 million over the next two years.

Students who went through the Promise program in the first two years say it has already changed their lives.

"It means not having to decide whether I'm going to eat today or pay this book off," says Maia Wakefield, who graduated from Mesa College last spring and plans to transfer to San Francisco State.

"It was just a big burden lifted off of me which allowed me to really thrive at Mesa College."

To be eligible, students must have graduated from a San Diego-area high school and maintain a 2.0 GPA.

Students can apply for the scholarship at the SDCCD website. The deadline to apply for the coming fall semester is August 2nd.

https://www.10news.com/news/making-i...diego-students

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