Tuition-Free Program Design Considerations

Recognizing the critical role higher education plays in their economies and for their workforce development, more than 33 states plus Washington D.C. have implemented statewide “Promise Programs” or Tuition-Free Programs. These programs have the common goal of promoting educational attainment by committing to provide a financial award above and beyond existing federal and state grant aid, focusing on providing a tuition-free college education.

This Policy Insight is follow-up to a comprehensive report we released in 2020 for which we collected data on existing state-level tuition-free programs and analyzed the equity implications of various award calculation methods as well as the criteria used to determine eligibility. This explainer focuses specifically on the effects of the varied award models on different student populations and who benefits the most from each design.

To learn more about this issue click HERE to read the full insight.