Dive Brief:
- Michigan will launch a free community college program for recent high school graduates starting this fall, potentially covering the cost of earning an associate degree or skills certificate for more than 18,000 students.
- Under the new Community College Guarantee initiative, high school graduates are eligible for up to $4,800 in tuition aid annually for three years. Pell Grant-eligible students will get an additional $1,000 a year to help cover living expenses.
- Michigan is one of a handful of states pursuing free community college programs after similar proposals floundered at the federal level.
Dive Insight:
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called for no-cost community college for high school graduates in her State of the State address earlier this year. With support from lawmakers, the program will now kick off this fall for the high school classes of both 2023 and 2024.
To be eligible, students must enroll at their local community college within 15 months of graduating from high school. Although they have to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, the program carries no income restrictions.
Students must continue to enroll in college full time and submit the FAFSA annually to renew their scholarship for up to three years.
Gov. Whitmer has long made free college a policy goal. The Democratic governor's administration set a goal of 60% of working-age residents holding a postsecondary credential by 2030. As of 2022, the rate stood at 51.1%.
In 2021, Whitmer developed the Michigan Reconnect program, which offers tuition-free community college for adults 25 and older who have no postsecondary credentials.
The state Legislature authorized that plan and, showing further support for her efforts, allocated $70 million in fiscal 2024 to temporarily lower Michigan Reconnect's age requirement to 21. That opened eligibility to 350,000 more residents. An additional $10.2 million from the state's Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity also went toward the expansion.
As of February, Michigan Reconnect has received over 122,000 applicants, according to state Democratic senators.
Michigan isn't the only state to generate interest in higher education from nontraditional students.
Earlier this week, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey touted the success of her state's free college program. In the 2023-24 academic year, Massachusetts’s community college system increased enrollment among those 25 and older without a degree by 45% year over year.
Healey attributed that growth to MassReconnect, a state program that covers community college costs for residents in that group.
