To provide certainty and opportunity for eligible California students, Cal Poly Humboldt has launched the “Green & Gold Guarantee” to provide financial support that ensures tuition and mandatory fees are fully covered. The program launched in January and will be automatically provided to eligible first-year and transfer students beginning with the Fall 2025 semester.
"The Green & Gold Guarantee is all about increasing access to a polytechnic education for residents of California and helping students and their families see a clear path to college," said Chrissy Holliday, Vice President for Enrollment Management & Student Success. "We want to eliminate worries about paying college tuition as a reason students don't go to college, or don't stay in college after enrolling.”
The Green & Gold Guarantee is not another financial aid program, and students do not have to enroll or apply. Eligibility will be determined through federal or state aid applications and provided to new students who are California residents, have a Student Aid Index of 9000 or less, and meet other criteria. The University will automatically provide funding to cover any gap between student aid and the full cost of tuition and mandatory fees—if a gap exists. In some cases, student aid may fully cover these costs without additional funding. All funds provided through the Guarantee are considered gift aid and do not need to be repaid. First-year students will be eligible for four years of funding and new transfer students will be eligible for two years of funding, provided they maintain full-time enrollment, a 2.0 GPA, and financial aid eligibility.
According to University estimates, nearly 300 first-time Cal Poly Humboldt students in both Fall 2023 and 2024 would have met the eligibility criteria for the Guarantee, and many had a known gap between their financial aid and the full cost of tuition and mandatory fees. In addition, nearly 1,700 admitted applicants who ultimately did not enroll at Cal Poly Humboldt would have been eligible. The average gap between all eligible applicants and enrolled students is $206, however, the level of actual need varies greatly among students and a gap could be into the thousands of dollars for some students.
“For so many families, this financial certainty is a game changer,” said Holliday. “For most families, knowing whether you can afford college is complicated. Cal Poly Humboldt is making this investment because we're committed to helping our students' dreams become reality."
Across the nation, there are numerous guarantee or promise programs. Cal Poly Humboldt’s Green & Gold Guarantee is the second in the CSU system and will provide funding to cover any gap after state and federal grant aid has been applied. Unlike many other programs, scholarships will not be counted toward the guarantee, so students may direct their scholarships toward other costs of attendance such as food and housing.
More information about eligibility and requirements can be found on the website.