Tuition-free community college for this year's high school graduates

(WSYM) - Tuesday, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced that tuition will be free at community colleges for those who graduate from Michigan high schools this year.

Students can earn an associate’s degree or skills certificate from an in-district community college for free, which can save up to $4,800 a year for 18,000 students.

“I’m proud of our work to lower the cost of higher education and put college or skills training in reach for more working Michigan families,” said Gov. Whitmer. “This education budget goes even further, delivering on our Michigan Guarantee to ensure every Michigan high school graduate can earn an associate degree or skills certificate tuition-free at their community college. Across our state more Michiganders are going back to school and getting the skills they need for high-skilled, better-paying jobs. We’ll keep working to lower barriers to economic prosperity and help more families ‘make it’ in Michigan.”

This new school aid budget delivers on the Michigan Guarantee, an effort for all Michiganders to have access to quality education from pre-K to community college. This was proposed at her 2024 State of the State Address.

“Education is our greatest engine for economic and personal advancement,” said Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist II. “Thanks to the Michigan Achievement Scholarship and Michigan Reconnect, countless Michiganders across our state have been able to chase their dreams of a good-paying job, a college education or skills training, and a better life. This education budget delivers on the Michigan Guarantee, making two years of community college or skills training an achievable goal for more Michigan families. We are grateful for the partnership that got this done and we will continue lowering barriers to health and wealth for Michiganders.”

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