LIFE

Michigan lawmakers approve more scholarship money for college students

Most students at community colleges eligible for up to $2,750 per year

By Jordan Scenna
Deputy Editor

Michigan lawmakers have passed a bipartisan supplemental package to fund economic development and deliver scholarships for higher education. Students who attend community college will receive up to $2,750 per year for up to three years, or $5,500 for a public university for up to five years. Students must maintain “adequate academic progress” to keep the scholarship.

Approved last week, the Michigan Achievement Scholarship is designed to help Gov. Gretchen Whitmer achieve her “60 by 30” goal, which would see 60% of working adults hold a college degree or skill certificate by 2030.

Starting with the class of 2023, students whose families have an “expected family contribution” of less than $25,000 are eligible for the scholarship. This is expected to cover 94% of students attending community college and 76% of students attending a public university.

Since 2012, enrollment at public universities is down nearly 46,000 students, according to reporting by bridgemi.com. The scholarship is intended to encourage highschoolers who are skittish about taking on loan debt to pursue a degree.

The scholarship is expected to cost the state $169 million for the 2023-24 school year, and $562 million over the next four years. This is an inconsequential sum according to Michigan Sen. Jeff Irwin, an Ann Arbor Democrat.

“This is going to help a lot of young kids get to college, it’s going to help our economy and it’s going to be good for a lot of people in our state,” Irwin said.