August 14, 2006
Plan would make college accessible and affordable to all in Michigan
LANSING - Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today said that her administration has sent an analysis to all Michigan school superintendents, highlighting the positive financial impact of her new Merit Award scholarship proposal. The data shows district leaders how much additional financial aid would be available to students in their district under the governor's plan.
"It is not enough to simply say that everyone must have education beyond high school to compete successfully in a global economy," said Granholm. "We must make access to that education - whether it's at our colleges and universities, our community colleges, or in a technical or vocational program - universal for every student in Michigan. My new Merit Award does just that."
The new Merit Award is a $4,000 scholarship that would be available to every student who wants to earn a college degree or technical certification. Currently, the Michigan Merit Scholarship is based solely on standardized test scores and is awarded to less than half the students who graduate from high school.
Granholm said her administration's analysis shows that, had her plan been in place for the class of 2005, those students would have earned an additional four to seven million dollars in financial support for education beyond high school.
The key features of the governor's new Merit Award proposal, which is a direct response to the central recommendation of the Cherry Commission on Higher Education and Economic Growth, are:
- Beginning with the high school class of 2007, students will be able to earn a $4,000 scholarship to attend any college or university in Michigan, public or private, and a wide array of technical training programs.
- Students who do well on the high school assessment can earn half their scholarship, $2,000, during their freshmen and sophomore years and earn the remaining $2,000 by successfully completing two years of post-secondary education, earning an associate's degree, junior status at a 4-year institution, or technical certification.
- Students who do not receive a qualifying score on the assessment test can earn their entire $4,000 scholarship by successfully completing two years of post-secondary education. They will be able to demonstrate their "merit" by earning the post secondary credentials that employers demand.
Granholm also said the analysis indicated that if just 10 percent of students in next year's graduating class attend college or community college, or receive technical training to earn their scholarship, those students would earn an additional $4.6 million in financial aid.
District specific data and an explanation of the criteria used in formulating the analysis can be found at www.michigan.gov/merit.
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