Notice: This article is more than one year old and is part of the Henry Ford College news archive. Information in the article may be outdated. For the most current news and information about Henry Ford College, please visit hfcc.edu/news, or contact communications@hfcc.edu.
Release Date: 
Monday, August 1, 2022

Detroit Promise gets new home in Student Center building

Photo of Yancy and Hogan in front of DP logo.
From L-R: Mark Yancy, Jr. and Elyse Hogan in the Detroit Promise's new home at HFC in M-117 in the Student & Culinary Arts Center. They are two of the three Detroit Promise's Campus Success Coaches at HFC.

Thanks to the support of private philanthropy, the Detroit Promise program at HFC will be housed in a newly renovated space in the Student & Culinary Arts Center (Building M) on the main campus in Room M-117.

“It’s a better location for the students. The proximity to their classes and other activities is much better,” said Campus Success Coach Mark Yancy, Jr. “Students complained we were too far away when we were in the Welcome Center. Here, we’re in the middle of campus. We’re in the same building as the food court and the Student Activities Office.”

Fellow Campus Success Coach Elyse Hogan agreed. “This is an ideal location.”

What is the Detroit Promise?

Founded in 2016, the Detroit Promise is a tuition-free college program, ensuring that any student graduating from any high school in the city of Detroit will have a tuition-free path to an associate degree or technical certificate. The City of Detroit pays for the associate degree tuition and fees, as long as all requirements are met. (Detroit Promise does not cover living expenses or incidental expenses).

The program is administered by the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with colleges like HFC, a proud participant since the beginning. In fact, HFC has the largest number of Detroit Promise students of any college. HFC follows the Applebaum Family Campus Coach model, which ensures that as a student, you will have an individual Campus Success Coach to make sure you are set up to succeed.

Each Detroit Promise student will receive a monthly stipend of $50 and will be connected to a community of Detroit Promise scholars. The Detroit Promise scholarship arranges last-dollar funding for eligible students to cover the costs of tuition and mandatory fees. This means that any Pell and/or TIP funding must be applied to a student’s tuition and fees first.

Connecting the dots

Detroit Promise Campus Success Coaches Elyse Hogan, Reco Spencer, and Mark Yancy, Jr. are committed to the success of each Detroit Promise student. As coaches, they provide guidance and support to all Detroit Promise students in the following areas:

  • Registering for classes
  • Succeeding in classes
  • Completing their FAFSA
  • Connecting them to all available campus resources
  • Buying books
  • Providing a listening ear, useful strategies, and guidance to ensure student success

The new Detroit Promise space is a collaborative work environment for both coaches and students. This new space allows for a sense of community and team building. The new space has an open conference room and multipurpose area for community learning.

“Students can come in, grab a snack, meet with their coach, and do their homework,” said Hogan. “This is their space.”

“We see ourselves as dot-connectors,” said Yancy. “We help students connect the dots. We help them navigate the system quicker and much more efficiently than they would on their own.”