LANSING, Mich. — Michigan has spent more than $1 billion since 2023 on scholarships that can make community college free, yet most residents still have never heard of them. A statewide advertising push now under way is trying to change that.
Billboards, TV spots and social media ads are part of a $5 million campaign paid for by foundations and state money. The message is blunt and sometimes playful: one billboard on M-36 in Whitmore Lake pairs a quirky fact about Italy with the reminder that two years of college is free in Michigan. The ads point viewers to the website 2yearsfree.com, which explains the programs and links people to a nearby community college.
The effort is run by Level Up Michigan!, a bipartisan coalition of business, labor and education leaders. It started in September and is scheduled to run through January 2028. Organizers want awareness of the scholarships to climb from roughly 3 in 10 residents to 8 in 10. A second phase next year will focus on high school seniors, with a goal of a 70% college-going rate for the class of 2029, up from about half today.
There are two main free-tuition paths. Recent high school graduates who have lived in Michigan since July 1 of the prior year can attend a community college tuition-free if they enroll full time within 15 months of finishing high school. Adults 21 and older who have lived in the state at least a year, hold a high school diploma or equivalent and have not finished a college degree can also qualify.
The numbers explain the urgency. The state goal is for 60% of working-age residents to hold a degree or credential by 2030, but the share has only edged up to 51.6% from 49.1% in 2019. Enrollment at public universities and community colleges fell 12% over that span, to about 555,000 in 2025. Michigan ranks 39th nationally for residents with a postsecondary credential, and on per capita income it has dropped 20 spots since 2000, to 39th in 2025.
The state lifelong education department, known as MiLEAP, has put $250,000 into the campaign through its fiscal agent and awarded another $250,000 apiece to the Michigan College Access Network and the Michigan Adult, Community and Alternative Education Association for their own outreach. Foundations including Kresge, Skillman, Mott and Kellogg are helping cover the coalition share of the bill.
Backers note that most students pay far less than the sticker price, which averaged $17,105 at the 15 public universities in 2025-26, and that employers in west Michigan say about 70% of their jobs require training beyond high school.
Section: More Lansing MI education news
Filed under: Lansing MI Education News
