College Coaching and Completion Grants in Tennessee: Estimated Effects on Persistence
Publication Date: December 18, 2024
Every high school graduate in Tennessee has been eligible for tuition-free community college through Tennessee Promise since 2015. Starting in 2019, nonprofit organization tnAchieves provided supplemental support to Tennessee Promise students from Knox County (Kast, 2019). The additional aid fell under the umbrella term “Knox Promise” and came in two forms: completion coaches and completion grants. Results from our difference-in-discontinuity design suggest that a typical level of first-semester engagement with COMPLETE coaching and grants significantly increased the likelihood that a student re-enrolled for a second year of college.