Promise Programs, a relatively new finance policy targeted at higher education, are becoming a \npopular tool to address educational equity issues and make higher education possible for more \nstudents, especially the historically underrepresented students. In 2017, New York was the first \nstate in the United States that announced a statewide Promise (called the Excelsior Scholarship \nProgram) applying the free college policy to all public higher education sectors for its state \nresidents. Will this program actually improve educational equity? This study seeks to explore this \nissue by focusing on the impact of the Excelsior Scholarship Program on the graduation \noutcomes of public 2-year colleges. Results show that for colleges that have implemented the \nExcelsior Scholarship Program, the undergraduate graduation rate (total undergraduates) \ngenerally decreased. The graduation of low-income undergraduates (full-time first-time) \ndecreased.

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