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'Go Blue Guarantee:' UM Opens No-Tuition Path for Eligible Michigan Students

June 15, 2017, 4:47 PM by  Alan Stamm

The University of Michigan takes a major step to ease access financially for in-state students -- a move sure to draw national attention.

Accepted applicants who live in this state can attend without tuition if family income is less than $65,000 annually, the Board of Regents announces.


A lofty goal for some non-scholarship students moves within reach. (Instagram photo from UM)

It’s the first program of its kind for any university in Michigan, the school says. The goal is "to help University of Michigan reach talented students from all communities in Michigan," adds Wednesday's announcement, reported by the Detroit Free Press and others.

The break takes effect next January for Class of 2022 applicants to the main campus. "This will change lives forever," says regent Denise Ilitch, quoted by the Freep.

Undergraduate tuition at the Ann Arbor campus currently is $15,850 per year, according to a College Stats site.

That rises 2.9% for in-state students for the 2017-18 academic year, the board agreed Wednesday. Outsiders will see a 4.5% increase.

The "Go Blue Guarantee" doesn't cover room and board, books or other non-tuition costs. It's also not for students at UM's Flint or Dearborn branches.

Mark Bernstein, an alumnus and prominent Farmington Hills attorney who chairs the board, said members voted to "honor our promise to make college more affordable for families that need the most help," David Jesse of the Free Press writes.

In a shot at state and federal cuts to higher education budgets, Bernstein added:

"We are doing the job that Lansing and Washington have failed to do. . . . This is a transformative moment in the history of the University of Michigan -- our state and nation is watching us."

After the board made their comments, U-M President Mark Schlissel grew emotional as he talked about the new program. "I think about the 7th grader in Ypsilanti or Grand Rapids or Detroit whose parents can say work hard and you can go to the University of Michigan."

Positive reactions flowed onto social media within minutes of the news from the Michigan Union meeting.

"Proud of my alma mater for taking initiative to provide education to those that can't afford it," comments Chris Zadorozny of Woodhaven, who earned a journalism degree in 2013 at the Dearborn campus and now works at a newspaper in Holland, Mich.

A 2003 creative writing and literature graduate in Detroit tweets:.


Read more:  Detroit Free Press


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