KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – A report from the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research shows college enrollment for Kalamazoo Promise scholarship recipients went down at an even higher rate during the pandemic than it did in similar school districts.
The organization’s Brad Hershbein, one of the report’s authors, says the decline may have been caused by the booming job market. Recipients of the Kalamazoo Promise scholarship have 10 years to use it, which means they may choose to work while the labor market is strong, with the intention of enrolling in college later
The study showed in the last five years, college enrollment by KPS graduates fell by 15 percent. In other mid-sized urban school districts in Michigan, it fell by about 11 percent, and in Michigan as a whole, it went down about 9 percent.
The report also found that Black female graduates of the Kalamazoo Public Schools had one of the biggest drops in college enrollment.
Even with the pandemic-era decline, KPS graduates still enroll in college about 10 percent more than students in comparable school districts in Michigan.
The report also found that about 29 percent of KPS graduates earn a college credential within six years of enrollment. For students from similar districts, it’s 25 percent, and about 38 percent for Michigan graduates as a whole.
