Strengthening the Industry to College Pipeline

The $70 million investment will enhance community colleges' capacity to (1) adopt evidence-proven practices and policies that improve college completion rates; (2) work in partnership with employers to co-develop curriculum that reflects the needs of Michigan's labor force; (3) invest in data systems that provide information on the value of various postsecondary credentials.

ARP dollars ($63 million) will be used to provide competitive grants to colleges and universities to reform current policies and practices to improve student success outcomes. Grant dollars could also be used to partner with employers to co-develop new or refreshed curriculum that aligns with the skills and competencies required by industry.

Additional funding ($7 million) would be used to improve current labor market data systems to provide real-time information on the value of various postsecondary credentials. This will ensure state investments into education and training are best aligned to the demands of employers by identifying the certifications, certificates, and degrees with the highest return on investment. This data will also help workers make data-driven decisions on the credentials that will provide the strongest employment and earnings outcomes, and allow them to avoid investing their time and money into low-quality credentials. By improving the sophistication of our existing data infrastructure, the State can be explicit about which credentials are high-quality and where residents can earn them.