Kalamazoo Promise opens free tuition to HBCUs nationwide

For two decades the deal in Kalamazoo, Michigan, has been simple: finish at a Kalamazoo public high school and college tuition is covered. Starting in fall 2027 the Kalamazoo Promise will reach historically Black colleges and universities across the country for the first time.

What changes

Eligible graduates will be able to use the scholarship for tuition and mandatory fees at fully accredited four-year HBCUs nationwide. It is the first time the program has paid for schools outside Michigan and it adds close to 100 campuses to the list. Students who already attend an HBCU or transfer to one can start receiving the benefit in fall 2027, though it will not pay for earlier semesters.

A dream within reach

Brooklyn Gardner, a senior at Kalamazoo Central High School, has wanted to attend an HBCU since middle school. Out-of-state tuition had put that goal out of reach. Now she will be among the first to benefit.

"You're at an institution that was for Black people and by Black people," she said, adding that it would let her experience her culture in a new way. Her mother, Keisha Gardner, said the announcement felt like prayers being answered.

Her father, Ajamian Gardner, is principal at Kalamazoo Phoenix High School. He said families have talked about adding HBCUs for about as long as the Promise has existed.

Why it matters

Kalamazoo Central principal Valerie Boggan said the expansion is about more than money. "You cannot be what you cannot see," she said. The Promise has given students a chance to see the world from a different vantage point and the new option widens that view.

Launched by anonymous donors in 2005, the Kalamazoo Promise became a model for place-based college scholarships around the country. The change lets Black students in the city choose campuses built around their history without the out-of-state price tag that kept many of them away.