Henry Ford College and Eastern Michigan University have partnered on a program offering free tuition to "essential workers" in Michigan pursuing four-year degrees.
The program, announced Wednesday, seeks to tap into the popularity of the state-funded Futures for Frontliners program, offering those who complete it an opportunity to pursue a tuition-free bachelor's degree.
Eastern will provide free tuition to federal Pell Grant-eligible essential workers who complete their associate degree at Henry Ford, EMU President James Smith said. Those not eligible for Pell grants will receive a $5,000 scholarship. Unlike the Futures for Frontliners program, the EMU scholarship will be paid for by the university.
"Our determination was to find general fund money," Smith said. "We don't have state or federal dollars to do this."
The offer of free tuition is a powerful motivator for the 600,000 workers in Michigan deemed essential during the pandemic. More than 90,000 have so far applied for the state Frontliners program. The deadline is Dec. 31.
Students eligible for the Futures for Frontliners program are eligible for the EMU/Henry Ford scholarship. People deemed essential include those who work in the health care and restaurant industries, at grocery stores, in public safety, in manufacturing personal protective equipment and more. For the tuition program, applicants must have worked at least part time in an essential industry for 11 of the 13 weeks between April 1 and June 30.
Around 1,100 eligible essential workers have applied to Henry Ford through the Frontliners program, said Russ Kavalhuna, president of the Dearborn-based college. The number could increase, he said, and it's difficult to gauge how many will go on to seek a degree from EMU, based in Ypsilanti.
Kavalhuna said he approached several universities about the opportunity to extend the Futures for Frontliners program. Only Eastern's administration and marketing team seized on it, but both institutions said they would welcome other schools to join.
"If a student comes through the front lines of this pandemic and gets through their associate degree at Henry Ford College, then they're going to continue right on in that pathway at Eastern Michigan University by either eliminating or almost eliminating the barrier of tuition," Kavalhuna said.
Smith said the scholarships for essential workers will be funded through the university's $53.3 million committed yearly for financial aid. He said the university is unsure how much of that aid will be funneled toward the front-liners scholarship, but essential workers will be first in line to receive aid.
"We wanted to make transferability as easy as it is for other programs that we've done (with Henry Ford)," Smith said. "We have dollars that we might have used elsewhere that we've now dedicated to use directly here for front-liners."
EMU's offer is available to essential workers who are just entering Henry Ford as well as those nearing completion of their associate degree there. Pell Grant-eligible students receive an EMU Frontliner Scholarship, which covers 12 credits of tuition for five consecutive semesters of enrollment at EMU, according to a news release. Students not eligible for Pell grants receive $1,250 for each of four consecutive semesters of full-time enrollment at 12 or more credit hours per semester.
The average cost of tuition per 12-credit semester at EMU is $6,000, plus fees and books. At Henry Ford, the average cost per semester is $1,200, plus fees and books.
For EMU and Henry Ford, the program could help stem damaging enrollment declines caused by the shrinking number of high school graduates pursuing higher education and exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fall enrollment at Henry Ford was 11,800, down 3.5 percent from last year. It's pacing to be down 21 percent this winter. At Eastern, fall enrollment is down 10 percent from last year to 16,324 and is expected to dip again this winter.
"As we see high school graduate percentages drop, this is another way to have those students in classrooms that may not have had space six or seven years ago and now we certainly do have that space," Smith said.
Moreover, full classrooms are important for the economy, Kavalhuna added.
"This is good for the region because we simply do not have enough talent to demand outside investment from the for-profit sector," he said. "Amazon looks at Southeast Michigan, considers us and decides there's not enough talent. There's not enough talent to drive business growth …"
"degree" - Google News
December 02, 2020 at 07:30PM
https://ift.tt/3lxYTVW
Eastern Michigan, Henry Ford College launch tuition-free bachelor's degree for essential workers - Crain's Detroit Business
"degree" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2zPqEHn
https://ift.tt/2WkjZfX
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Eastern Michigan, Henry Ford College launch tuition-free bachelor's degree for essential workers - Crain's Detroit Business"
Post a Comment