The Ventura College Promise — the brainchild of then-College president Dr. Robin Calote in 2006 — is a first-year program sponsored by the Ventura College Foundation that is designed to remove the economic barriers to education for graduating Ventura County high school seniors, improve the college-going rate in Ventura County and enhance the quality of the workforce in Ventura County.

The “Promise” is that qualified Ventura County high school graduates will have their enrollment fees covered during their first year of attendance at Ventura College. This same promise is extended to students who have successfully completed their GED requirements or who have completed the coursework for high school in the current year, but have not yet passed their exit exam. Expenses covered by the Ventura College Promise include the per-unit cost of classes, the Student Rep fee, the Health fee  and the Student Center fee.

The money that supports the Ventura College Promise comes from the space rentals at the Marketplace, a 700-vendor weekend open-air market hosted by the Ventura College Foundation on campus. Since 1985, the Marketplace has raised more than $10 million in program support.