State and local leaders considering tuition-free college programs have an updated resource: The Free College Handbook: A Practitioner’s Guide to Promise Research, a practical guide to designing and implementing place-based scholarship programs, produced by the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. Designed for mayors, state officials, college administrators, nonprofit leaders, philanthropists and civic groups, the handbook answers 25 of the most common questions about Promise programs —  from funding and eligibility to measuring impact.

The handbook notes that most Promise programs cover tuition and fees only, not housing, food, books or transportation. Still, removing tuition as a barrier can change expectations, increase college-going rates, and make communities more attractive places to live and invest.

The development of the Free College Handbook, first published in 2022, was funded by the Kresge Education Program. The revised and expanded 2025 edition is available for download and includes explainer videos for public use.

In addition to funding the handbook, the grant from the Kresge foundation is supporting the creation of a new online resource, the Promise Programs Hub. The website will house the Free College Handbook, as well as a database with information on tuition free college programs around the nation, a searchable bibliography of scholarly research, “explainer” videos,” and a range of other resources.