Michigan Narrows Free Community College Eligibility Gap

Michigan is expanding one of its free community college tuition programs, hopefully permanently.

The state has two such initiatives. Its Community College Guarantee provides free tuition to resident students who enroll full-time within 15 months of graduating from a Michigan high school or earning an equivalency certificate. Those who missed that window could still get free tuition through the Michigan Reconnect program, but they had to wait until they’re 25.

Sarah Szurpicki, a deputy director at the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement and Potential (MiLEAP) who oversees its Office of Higher Education, said the Reconnect program’s eligibility age was previously temporarily lowered to 21 using federal COVID-19 funding—narrowing the time when prospective students weren’t eligible for free tuition. This fall, with the help of $25 million in new state funding, the threshold age is again dropping to 21, Szurpicki said.

“While as with all state-funded programs, funding remains subject to the annual budget process, we are committed to continuing to work with our Legislature and partners to ensure sustained funding for this opportunity in the years to come,” Szurpicki said. She said the application will open next week.

Students must still meet a few other criteria, including having lived in Michigan for at least a year and not having earned a degree already.

MiLEAP says on its website that Reconnect is “the largest effort in state history to ensure eligible Michiganders who do not have a college degree will have an opportunity to earn a tuition-free or deeply discounted associate degree or skills certificate.” Szurpicki said an estimated 20,000 students have graduated through Reconnect in the five years the program has existed.