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Lawmakers hear push for statewide 'Promise' program to expand scholarships and student supports
Summary
Task force authors and university and nonprofit leaders urged lawmakers to fund a statewide 'Promise' model (SB 380) that pairs scholarships with wraparound services, proposing roughly $30 million annually to close Connecticut's financial‑aid gap and retain students. Members probed implementation details, program standards, and how smaller towns would seed local initiatives.
Supporters of a proposed statewide "Promise" program told the Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee that the model—already operating in Hartford, New Haven and Waterbury—combines scholarships with intensive student supports and internships to improve college completion and retain graduates in Connecticut.
Kelvin Roldan, co‑chair of the Connecticut Promise Task Force, said the state currently invests about $245 per undergraduate in need‑based aid while the national average is roughly $1,283, and recommended adding about $30,000,000 per year to move Connecticut toward parity. "This is not an expansion of financial aid," he said. "It is a foundation for a coordinated system that improves college access, strengthens completion and retains more Connecticut students in state." Roldan urged creation of a coordinating Office of Postsecondary…
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