Beginning with the fall 2020 semester, Eastern Connecticut State University will expand its partnership with the New Haven Promise program to provide opportunities to students receiving New Haven Promise scholarships who are attending Eastern.

Starting with the high school graduating class of 2020, Eastern will provide $5,000 in a matching grant to each New Haven Promise student attending Eastern, in addition to any need-based financial aid they receive. New Haven Promise Scholars will also have a guaranteed job on Eastern’s campus, gaining valuable work experience while earning additional income to support their college education.

This guarantee of an on-campus job means that every New Haven Promise Scholar will be gaining important employability skills during their time at Eastern, with their work supervisor serving as a mentor and guide. Many on-campus jobs – graphic designers, writers, lab assistants – are also directly linked to students’ majors, so they will be able to put those jobs on their resumes as indicators of skills related to their career field.

Eastern will also assign a full-time advisor to New Haven Promise scholars to provide them with the support they need to transition to college.

“Providing educational access to first-generation students is central to Eastern’s mission,” said Eastern President Elsa Núñez. “This expansion of our partnership with the New Haven Promise program is another way we can fulfill our commitment to serving students from all backgrounds. We are excited about the opportunity to have more students from New Haven making their special contributions to our campus community.”

While the new agreement with the New Haven Promise represents a step forward, with added support on Eastern’s campus for New Haven Promise Scholars, students from the program have been attending Eastern for the past eight years. Over that time, 43 New Haven Promise Scholars have been admitted to Eastern, becoming leaders on campus while pursuing college degrees and aspiring to professional careers.

New Haven Mayor Toni Harp lauded Eastern for the new partnership with New Haven Promise and said Eastern has a favored reputation among students for being a “caring” campus. Harp described educational access as nothing less than “a community’s moral commitment to its children,” and said programs like the New Haven Promise scholarship program “pay dividends to the next generation.”

New Haven Promise President Patricia Melton shared graduation data with the audience, indicating that 88 percent of the first four graduating classes of New Haven Promise students attended a four-year college or university. The college graduation rate of those students was 65 percent, higher than the Connecticut and U.S. averages. Students attending public four-year universities in Connecticut like Eastern graduated at a higher rate (68 percent) than those attending a private institution.