December 7

Dr. Jennifer Delaney, Associate Professor

UIUC College of Education

This work examines the impact of “Promise” programs on postsecondary institutions’ decision-making. Promise programs have garnered widespread attention in the U.S., especially after the announcement of the Kalamazoo Promise, but relatively little scholarly research. Promise programs provide grant aid to all students from a particular geographic location and make an early financial aid commitment. Using a 2000-2012 panel dataset, this work employs a quasi-experimental difference-in-difference methodological design to consider the impact of Promise programs on postsecondary institutional behavior. Promise programs are found to influence behavior related to tuition and fee setting, and grant aid awards. The direction of the effects are different for two- and four-year institutions. In addition, generally larger magnitudes are found at geographically proximate institutions. Additional on-going work that considers the impact of Promise programs on the internal expenditure decisions of postsecondary institutions will also be discussed.

A light lunch will be served.

Learn more about the talk.