Hope Forward News

Celebrating Our Students and Looking Ahead with Hope Forward

Hope College’ newest and largest Hope Forward cohort — 40 bright freshmen ready to embark on their college journey — marks a significant chapter for Hope Forward because the 2024–2025 academic year will be the first time we will have on campus four full cohorts — 120 students from freshmen to seniors.

Read Story

Hope Receives Institution-Wide Grant through Educating Character Initiative

The Character Forward Grant is designed to catalyze character development efforts across the college and to establish infrastructure that will support this work long after the life of the grant.

Read Story

A life-changing flight and a grateful heart

Rajean “RJ” Wuerfel ’90 Wolters views Hope Forward as a “glimpse of heaven.” A harrowing experience in the sky inspires how and why she gives to the program.

Read Story

From Apathy to All-In

At first, Carl Heideman ’88 saw Hope Forward as just another fundraising campaign slogan, but then he took a closer look at it and its three pillars of access, generosity and community. Now, he’s all-in.

Read Story

Hope College Featured on Malcolm Gladwell’s Podcast

Best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell has publicly released his Revisionist History podcast episode, “A Good Circle,” about Hope College and Hope Forward.

Read Story
Play Video

A Catalyst for Hope

Bestselling author Malcolm Gladwell hosted a dynamic keynote presentation at Hope College’s Catalyst Summit, which provided an energizing exploration of how to improve access to college.

Read Story
Play Video

College Without Tuition | SXSW EDU 2022

College will never be free. The question we need to ask is: who should pay for it, and when? The current model — used throughout higher ed — forces students to pay a lot at the poorest point in their lives, burdening them with debt for decades. But a bold new way called "Hope Forward" flips the current model on its head.

Read Story

Follow the Money: How Student Loans Derailed American Higher Education

Every student who takes Economics 101 learns the concept of supply and demand—specifically, how a decrease in the supply of a good or resource drives up its cost. Can supply-and-demand theory also explain the rising cost of attending college?

Read Story

Why the Four-Year Degree is Still the Best “Pathway Program”

This op-ed is the third in a series in which President Matthew Scogin from Hope College will be exploring the ways that the economics of higher education influence the decisions students make about their education—and what we (as a country) can do to improve access to higher education.

Read Story

A College Education is too Expensive

Hope is going to change that. Hope Forward is an entirely new funding model that will provide fully-funded tuition for every student at Hope College.

Instead of charging tuition before receiving a transformative Hope education, this “pay it forward” approach will ask students to give to the college after they graduate — providing the same opportunity for future students. And because they will graduate free from the burden of tuition debt, they’ll be better positioned to pursue lives of impact, not just income to pay the bills.

A college funding model based on generosity and gratitude? We believe that could change everything.

About Hope ForwardGive to Hope Forward

Help Us Move Hope Forward

 

Learn more about Hope Forward

Hope Forward: Three Pillars

  • Being transformed by Hope should not come with a price tag.

    Access
  • Graduates give out of gratitude for the gift they have received.

    Generosity
  • Hope Forward will transform our relationship with students and alumni.

    Community