UPDATE: 'Shocked the whole thing came together but pleased beyond words'

KALAMAZOO, MI -- The Kalamazoo Promise scholarship program is expanding to 15 private liberal-arts colleges in Michigan, with tuition covered up to 100 percent for students in Kalamazoo Public Schools, said a press release issued this morning by The Kalamazoo Promise and the Michigan Colleges Alliance.

The change will begin with the Class of 2015.

The expansion is made possible through a partnership of The Kalamazoo Promise and the Michigan Colleges Alliance, in which the 15 institutions in the alliance have agreed to fund the difference in costs between their tuition and attending a public university.

"There will be no added costs to Kalamazoo Promise scholars" who attend a private institution, said Janice Brown, Promise executive director emeritus. The Promise, a universal scholarship program for KPS graduates, is currently limited to public schools in Michigan.

Officials were to announce the change at a press conference at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Kalamazoo College, one of the private colleges participating in the expansion.

Brown said she was approached by the Michigan Colleges Alliance "a couple years ago, asking me if there would be interest" in an arrangement to extend The Promise to their schools.

"I told them, 'You have to be great partner for that to happen,'" Brown said. "But they came up with a great opportunity that we couldn't resist."

She said the expansion is "all about access and opportunities for our students."

Brown said she expects "90 percent of our students will still go to public universities," but this "removes some barriers" for students seeking a different option.

"It's another step to help improve the achievement and college completion of Kalamazoo Promise scholars," she said.

In addition, Brown said, she hopes this will attract more students to Kalamazoo Public Schools.

"I think this will be attractive to a large variety of people," she said.

Brown was superintendent of Kalamazoo Public Schools when The Promise was first announced in November 2005. Since its inception, the scholarship program, which is funded by anonymous donors, has paid out $54 million in tuition for more than 3,200 students.

In addition to Kalamazoo College, institutions in the MCA are Adrian, Albion, Alma, Andrews, Aquinas, Calvin, Hope, Hillsdale, Madonna, Marygrove, Olivet, Siena Heights, Spring Arbor and University of Detroit Mercy.

Currently, Promise scholarships can be used at Michigan's 15 public universities and 28 community colleges. The program covers up to 130 credits or a bachelor's degree, whichever comes first.

Promise scholarships are based on a student's longevity in the district. The program pays 100 percent of tuition and mandatory fees for students in KPS since kindergarten and 95 percent for those who entered the district between first and third grades.

The smallest subsidy is 65 percent for students who transfer into KPS as freshmen. Students who transfer into the district after the start of ninth grade are not eligible for the scholarship program. (Click here for a chart on Promise subsidies).

Under the new rule change, Promise scholars who attend a private college will be treated as if they are attending University of Michigan's College of Literature, Science and the Arts. U-M's College of LS&A was picked because U-M is Michigan's most expensive public university and LS&A is its biggest school, Brown said.

If the student has not attended Kalamazoo schools since kindergarten, his or her share of tuition would be the same as a Promise student who attends U-M after the same number of years in KPS.

The private schools will pay the full difference between their tuition and the U-M tuition regardless of how much time the student spent in KPS, as long as the student started in the public school system as a freshman.

For 2014-15, the tuition at U-M's College of LS&A is nearly $14,000, which means the maximum out-of-pocket tuition cost for a Promise recipient would be about $4,900.

The average tuition at the MCA institutions for 2014-15 is about $28,000, and ranges from $17,520 at Madonna University in Detroit to $40,728 at Kalamazoo College.

Brown repeatedly stressed the "great partnership" between The Promise and the public colleges, particularly Western Michigan University and Kalamazoo Valley Community College, and said she is hoping for a similar relationship with the MCA schools.

"I love what (KVCC President) Marilyn Schlack said when I told her about this," Brown said. "Marilyn told me, 'We're all in this together.'"

Julie Mack covers K-12 education and writes a column for Kalamazoo Gazette. Email her at jmack1@mlive.com, call her at 269-350-0277 or follow her on Twitter @kzjuliemack.