These MI Community Colleges Just Got Thousands In Grant Funding

LANSING, MI — Michigan is awarding grants totaling $750,000 to nine community colleges in an attempt to improve success rates among adult students.

In an announcement Friday, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said that five colleges will receive Sixty by 30 Student Success Grants of up to $150,000 each. Four colleges will receive up to $20,000 to hire a college completion coach in partnership with Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) in partnership with.

"These grants are essential to helping us provide Michiganders the education they need to get better-paying, high-skill jobs,” Whitmer said in a statement. “Advancing higher education has been a day one priority for my administration, and the MI Reconnect and Futures for Frontliners programs help us accomplish our long-term goal of 60 by 30—ensuring 60% of Michiganders have a post-secondary degree or skills training by 2030.

"As we emerge from the pandemic together and continue our economic comeback, we will stay laser-focused on helping people develop solid skills so they can find good jobs for great pay.”

The Sixty by 30 Student Success grants will provide funding for grantees to implement and institutionalize new strategies to increase completion rates for Futures for Frontliners and Michigan Reconnect students above each college’s current rate for all adult students, according to a news release.

The grants were awarded based on evidence supporting the likely effectiveness of the strategy or practice for increasing persistence and completion rates for adults, the state said. All funded initiatives were required to be new to the college, promise impact at scale, be potentially transferable to other colleges and subject to evaluation.

Below is a list of the five community colleges that will receive grants including highlights of the program initiatives they plan to implement:

• Henry Ford College: First-Year Experience
  • Henry Ford College will develop, offer and require a one-credit hour structured course tailored to adult students that will help connect them to resources that foster their academic and career goals.
• Mott Community College: Corequisite Support
  • Mott Community College will implement corequisite and intensive support models for delivering developmental education to ensure that adult students who need extra academic support are able to build momentum and succeed in college-level courses during their first year.
• Muskegon Community College: 360° Coaching
  • Muskegon Community College will provide adult students with a designated coach to contact whenever issues arise in and outside of the classroom. The coach will also proactively survey students on their needs and connect them with targeted resources to help them succeed.
• Oakland Community College: Credit for Competency
  • Oakland Community College will create a systematic process to award appropriate credits for adult students with prior learning, skills and experiences.
• Southwestern Michigan Community College: Career Exploration
  • Southwestern Michigan College will create a Career Services Office and hire a dedicated career coach who will identify local, in-demand careers for adult students. This specialist will empower Reconnect students to make informed decisions about the programs of study and credentials that lead to jobs that pay a living wage.

In addition, the state said in a news release that four community colleges will receive $20,000 to support the placement of a full-time AmeriCorps member to serve as a dedicated completion coach for adult students. Those colleges are:

• Lake Michigan College
• Monroe County Community College
• Montcalm Community College

• St. Clair County Community College