Last October, the Polaris Promise Program began to slowly change higher education in Minnesota. As a teacher, I am also excited about the change in planning for future commitment.
The Polaris Promise Program covers 100% of the cost of a public university or university in Minnesota. The program supports students with adjusted gross income of $80,000 or less, making the program a truly serving middle-class families across the state.
The funds that students can receive are calculated in the “last dollar”. Once aid that does not require repayment (scholarships, grants, etc.) is awarded, the Polaris Commitment Program begins to cover the rest.
Due to the program, the program only ranges from $1,500 to $2,500 per student (average) cough, depending on whether the student attends a community college or a university.
These figures are in progress and students are taking advantage of the program. According to Minnpost, more than 16,700 students participated in the program last fall. As Minnesota Public Radio also reports, it is changing lives. I am particularly excited to consider returning to students and re-complete their degree after a decade or more.
Such plans can change lives and families.
College changed my life (and my family’s life). I was the first child to complete college in a family, only the sixth child to complete high school, going back to my family tree back to 1902 when Kasubu fishermen left a village on the peninsula along Lake Michigan, Michigan. My family’s community was relocated in the city’s Riverwest community, building Catholic churches from scraps, for example, the body of the post office.
We did the hard way because there was no other way. My great-grandfather was a long-time book collector. My grandfather was the gatekeeper of a shoe factory. My father is a soldier. My grandmother was a class chef-her forearms were bigger than my grandfather’s because she threw a bag of flour like it was easy. My mother was a community organizer and just wanted me to go to college because she couldn’t do it.
So I did it. Now, I am a professor at the University of Minnesota-Duluth University, which is a career path that makes my life easier and their lives easier. My college education means that someone in my family has a savings account for the first time and A checking account, which means everyone has a buffer when they need it.
I hope more Polaris promise students to use the program for themselves and their families. But beyond that, I hope more Polaris promise students to move forward as their presence will change the university.
If I had five left-handed students in each class, the university would invest in more left-handed tables. If the Polaris Commitment Program brings more and more professionals from the University of Minnesota back to their degree, we will see the university’s investment in its community differently. If the Polaris promises that plans to bring first generation students like me to campus, we will see the shape of campus dialogue change.
I am grateful to the North Star Promise program because it creates opportunities for kids like me to go to college. But more importantly, it creates opportunities for kids like me to turn higher education into a more inclusive space, welcoming children of farmers and factory workers. beside Children of engineer and financial analyst. The Polaris Promise Program provides everyone with a space to get me to class and my class will be better because they are there.
David Beard is a professor of rhetoric at the University of Minnesota-Duluth University.