Mesa College Promise starts fourth year of free college for eligible city residents
Over 300 new Mesa Community College students joined the Mesa College Promise program for its fourth consecutive year, a nearly 50% increase from 2023, according to a MCC news release.
The Mesa College Promise is offered at MCC and brings two years worth of fully funded tuition and fees to all eligible full-time students, even if they use resources like FAFSA or scholarships, as stated on the MCC website.
The program was previously endorsed by First Lady Jill Biden in 2023 when she visited the campus.
In 2021, the Mesa College Promise started as a commitment from the City of Mesa to its citizens to help recent high school graduates attend community college, without having to worry about being able to afford the expenses, according to the MCC.
“The program also provides a $250 stipend to every student who qualifies for the program,” according to Celina Salinas, MCC’s director of strategic enrollment and program administrator.
The program also partnered with the iBelong Student Success Initiative, which allows enrolled students in the program to check out an iPad to use each semester during classes.
Salinas added that another objective of the program this year is to help the students become career ready through skill assessment and a planned career exploration, alongside job readiness workshops would be offered in partnership with Career Services at MCC, according to Salinas.
“We want to make sure that they’re aware of their career options,” Salinas stated.
Some program students, such as Arizona State University student Rosalee Martinez, a Mesa High School and MCC graduate, used the program to help navigate their way through college as a first generation student.
“It provided me (with) a network of other like-minded individuals to help motivate me, (to) get through college as a first generation student,” Martinez said.
As of 2023, nearly 44% of Arizona college students are first generation college students, the third highest percentage out of all 50 states and Washington D.C, according to a news report by Forbes.
At MCC, nearly half of all students are first generation college students.
Mesa College Promise leaders also helped students like Martinez by “encouraging [students] to volunteer [and] take those leadership positions that help [students] stand out.”
In the past, only Mesa residents who graduated from an accredited high school or earned their GED after January 1, 2021 could be eligible to join the program.
This year, Mesa residents 24 years old and older with a high school diploma or a GED and no previous college degree are now among those that could be eligible.
Among the 320 new Mesa College Promise students are 57 of those adult learners, according to MCC.
Over 70% of the new students in the program are also first generation college students.
Applications for next year’s edition of the program will open in Spring 2025.
