Jeffrey Mosher speaks with MCAN Executive Director, Ryan Fewins-Bliss as Michigan College Access Network has invested $50,000 in student incentives to improve FAFSA completion rates.

A number of high schools are on the hunt for “near-peer” advisers. A program through AdviseMI and the Michigan College Access Network has seen Lapeer County schools, such as North Branch and Imlay City High Schools, utilize near-peer college advisers.

Jeffrey Mosher speaks with MCAN Executive Director, Ryan Fewins-Bliss in response to Gov. Whitmer releasing the MI Blueprint for Comprehensive Student Recovery.

Many Michigan students are struggling with academic performance and social and emotional health, teachers are suffering from burnout and colleges are experiencing plunging enrollment rates during the pandemic. This month, Gov. Whitmer rolled out a plan.

Over 70,000 Michigan residents have applied for Michigan Reconnect to attend community college tuition-free, granting thousands a chance to head back to the classroom or enhance their skills without burning a hole in their wallet.

From drive-thru services and virtual guidance to incentives like the Dash for Cash program, college advisers and college access groups are finding new ways to encourage FAFSA completion across the country.

State officials in Michigan expected a big response when they launched a free college program for adults earlier this year. They got lots of takers, all right -- 67,000 and counting.

Students who skip college because they don’t think they can afford it – most often students of color, low-income students, and/or would-be first-generation college students – undercut their own economic opportunities.

Less than 55 percent of 2020 Michigan high school graduates enrolled in college within six months of getting diplomas, a plummet of 5 percentage points in one year, according to data from the Michigan Center for Educational Performance and Information.

Tuition-free programs are spreading across Michigan’s four-year college campuses, a movement that appears to have been sparked by two new and wildly popular free community college programs initiated recently by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.