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D2 Promise Program Impact
When D2 voters chose to remove barriers for their students, they made a promise. Here’s the evidence that promise is being kept.
D2 students served since 2020
Students staying enrolled (Fall 2025 first-dollar cohort)
Annual investment approved by D2 voters
D2 grads chose PPSC (Fall 2025 enrollment rate)
What “first-dollar” means – and why it matters
D2 Promise pays tuition and fees upfront before any other aid is applied. Federal and state financial aid – plus any additional scholarships – then turns into money students can use for living expenses, textbooks, and other costs.
The result: students can focus on their education instead of working multiple jobs to afford college.
Most Promise programs work backwards, covering only what’s left over after other aid is applied. D2 Promise flips that model – and the results speak for themselves.
First-dollar funding
Tuition and fees are covered first. Other financial aid goes directly to the student.
Comprehensive coaching
Dedicated coaches guide students from enrollment through graduation. D2 Promise students stay enrolled at a rate 20 percentage points higher than PPSC’s overall student population.
Community investment
Publicly funded by D2 voters for 10 years with full transparency and oversight.
The growth arc
The percentage of D2 Promise students who start at PPSC and come back the following semester has climbed steadily since 2020. In Fall 2025, two funding models ran side by side: last-dollar students came back at a rate of 80%, while first-dollar students hit 88% – the highest in program history.
28 percentage point increase since 2020
From 60% in 2020 to 88% in 2025. The consistent upward trend reflects years of program refinement, and the first-dollar model accelerated it further.
Fall 2025 first-dollar cohort
- 193 students (72% first-generation)
- 2.79 average GPA
- $2,209 average scholarship
- 2 students earned Nurse Aide Certifications in their first semester
The evolution
D2 Promise didn’t start as America’s first publicly funded first-dollar program. It evolved through strategic decisions that put students first at every step.
A strategic shift in how D2 students approach college
- Students have discovered that 2-year pathways often work better – completing credentials faster and entering the workforce sooner
- 60 – 70% now choose a 2-year college first, compared to before 2020 when most D2 college-bound students chose 4-year schools
- D2 students are making strategic decisions, choosing free, local education that leads to good jobs and better lives
Transfer success
Promise students who want to continue to 4-year degrees have transferred to top universities, including:
University of Colorado Boulder
Colorado State University
CU Colorado Springs
Colorado School of Mines
CSU Pueblo
Arizona State University
Grand Canyon University
Fall 2025 enrollment
More than 1 in 4 D2 graduates chose to enroll at PPSC through the Promise program in Fall 2025 – 193 students from all seven D2 schools.
| School | 2025 graduates | Promise students | Participation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harrison High School | 208 | 62 | 30% |
| Sierra High School | 161 | 48 | 30% |
| Atlas Preparatory School | 122 | 30 | 25% |
| James Irwin Charter School | 80 | 29 | 36% |
| The Vanguard School | 75 | 9 | 12% |
| Career Readiness Academy | 47 | 7 | 15% |
| Aspire Online Academy | 19 | 8 | 42% |
| All D2 schools | 712 | 193 | 27% |
Source: Harrison School District 2 and Pikes Peak State College · Fall 2025
Growth over time
Both credentials earned and graduates produced have accelerated year over year – with the largest gains coming in the most recent academic years.
Credentials earned
Credentials include associate degrees, certificates, and other academic achievements earned at PPSC. A single student may earn more than one credential.
Total credentials AY 2020 – 2025
PPSC graduates
Students who completed a program of study and graduated from Pikes Peak State College. Some graduates go on to transfer to a 4-year university.
Total graduates AY 2020 – 2025
What first-dollar means in practice
First-dollar funding means D2 Promise pays tuition and fees upfront – before any other aid is applied. That turns federal and state financial aid – plus any additional scholarships – into money students can use for living expenses, textbooks, and other costs.
These examples are illustrative and do not represent specific students. Actual tuition, aid, and refund amounts vary based on individual enrollment and financial aid packages.
Allison
PPSC tuition and fees (in-person)
($2,702)
- D2 Promise: $2,702
- Pell: $3,698
- CO Grant: $3,000
- Other: $1,500
$8,198
total refund available for
textbooks, materials & living expenses
Aaron
PPSC tuition and fees (in-person)
($3,382)
- D2 Promise: $3,382
- CO Grant: $3,000
$3,000
total refund available for
textbooks, materials & living expenses
Tyler
PPSC tuition and fees (in-person)
($2,812)
- D2 Promise: $2,812
- Other: $1,000
$1,000
total refund available for
textbooks, materials & living expenses
Rhianna
PPSC tuition and fees (in-person)
($3,896)
- D2 Promise: $3,896
$0
total refund. Student would need to cover costs for textbooks, online classes, or materials out-of-pocket.
Your investment at work
When D2 voters approved the mill levy in November 2024, they committed $2 million annually for 10 years. This report – and every report published three times a year – is part of the transparency promise made to those voters.
Mill levy investment
approved annually by D2 voters for ten years, through 2035
Fall 2025 first-dollar tuition
scholarship costs only – does not include PPSC program operations (coaching, events, recruiting)
Multiple layers of transparency ensure proper stewardship
Citizens Oversight Committee
12 community members review all mill levy expenditures annually
Regular community reports
Published three times a year with updates on student progress and fund usage
Yearly data-driven report
Comprehensive economic impact analysis and program evaluation by Data-Driven Economic Strategies (DDES)
Open financial records
Full transparency at hsd2.org/our-district/financial-transparency
This is just the beginning
Five years ago, 93 students took a chance on a new kind of promise. Today, 877 D2 students have benefited from that promise, and the community that funded it just earned national recognition for building something the rest of the country wants to replicate.
Southeast Colorado Springs did that.
And the country is paying attention.
(updated three times per year – fall, spring & summer)