TICAS Statement on House Passage of the Build Back Better Act

(Lansing, MI) – Michigan’s financial aid system is complicated. The state has eight different programs that serve different populations, have…

Michigan Governor Whitmer signed into law two bills, championed by lawmakers from both parties, that will make college more affordable for low-income Michigan college students impacted by COVID-19. TICAS applauds their leadership and is grateful for their action.

Removing operational hurdles in Michigan’s Tuition Incentive Program (TIP) could benefit as many as 100,000 more students, according to a new report released by The Century Foundation (TCF) and TICAS. Although Michigan lags behind other Midwest states in overall grant aid to college students, the TIP program offers a well-targeted, promising model for other states to consider. 

The Michigan budget deal announced this morning demonstrated that higher education is a priority for the state legislature and Governor Whitmer. The budget maintains the state’s overall investment in higher education, protecting higher education institutions and financial aid against cuts at a time of great uncertainly and need due to the economic ramifications of...

Report explores accessibility and details findings, including that one in eight NPCs in Michigan are hard to find on institution’s websites, one-fifth require overly detailed family financial information to complete, and some schools use data that is a decade old to compute the results. The report provides recommendations for the federal government, states, and colleges.

Michigan's legislative leaders and Governor Whitmer acted to protect financial aid for thousands of low-income students in Michigan during this uncertain time. We commend these leaders for taking this crucial action to extend access to the Tuition Incentive Program (TIP), which provides free tuition at community college and $500 per semester towards a B.A. for qualifying...