MARQUETTE, Mich. — Four public universities that serve large stretches of rural Michigan are asking state lawmakers to let their two-year students use the free tuition program now reserved for community and tribal colleges.
Ferris State, Northern Michigan, Lake Superior State and Michigan Technological are the only schools among Michigan’s 15 public universities that award associate degrees. Their leaders argue that students who live hours from the nearest community college are effectively locked out of the Community College Guarantee.
The program started in fall 2024. Under state student aid rules it pays in-district tuition and required fees, along with contact-hour charges, for qualifying graduates in 2023 and later classes, and Pell-eligible students can collect an extra $1,000 Michigan Achievement Bonus. To qualify, a student must file the federal aid application, enroll full time and start college within 15 months of finishing high school. The award can be renewed for up to three years, and students who pick a community college outside their home district still get a sizable discount.
In the 2024-25 year, roughly $46.6 million flowed to 20,007 students through the guarantee, with an average award of $2,327. It works as a last-dollar grant, filling the gap left after federal aid and other scholarships.
The four universities handed out about 5% of the 21,353 associate degrees earned in Michigan in 2024. Ferris led the group with 750, followed by Northern Michigan with 245, Lake Superior State with 158 and Michigan Tech with 16.
Cost is the main hurdle. University tuition for a full year of credits runs about three times the community college rate, according to the state House Fiscal Agency, and covering every associate-track student at the four schools could cost the state $18 million to $20 million a year. The state community college association has warned the change would be expensive.
Supporters say the issue ties directly to Michigan’s goal of having 60% of adults hold a degree or credential by 2030. About 52% do today. One idea floated by the state college access network would have the universities discount their associate programs in return for access to the guarantee.
No bill has been filed. State Rep. Tom Kunse, a Clare Republican whose district includes Ferris State, has said he supports the idea for rural students, and Ferris President Bill Pink has said winning the expansion ranks near the top of his list once the Nov. 3 election is over.
Backers also frame it as a regional workforce issue. In Marquette, home to Northern Michigan, local school leaders point to an aging population and say keeping young people in the area for training in nursing, policing and the building trades starts at the university.
Section: More Lansing MI education news
Filed under: Lansing MI Education News
