University Of Michigan Free Tuition 'Will Change Lives'

ANN ARBOR, MI — Michigan students whose parents earn less than $65,000 annually can attend the University of Michigan tuition-free under a program announced Thursday by the university’s Board of Regents. About half of the families in Michigan would qualify for the program, which is designed to increase accessibility to the school.

The Go Blue Guarantee is on a fast track and will be available to students at the Ann Arbor campus only in January 2018. Qualifying families also will be eligible for other financial aid to assist with housing and other costs of college, officials said. (For more local news, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Detroit Patch, click here to find your local Michigan Patch. Also, like us on Facebook, and if you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

Board of Regents Chairman Mark Bernstein said the university is “doing the job that Lansing and Washington have failed to do,” the Detroit Free Press reported. Regent Denise Ilitch said the program "will change lives forever."

"This is a transformative moment in the history of the University of Michigan — our state and nation is watching us," Bernstein said.

He said the Go Blue Guarantee accomplishes its goals without taking need-based financial aid from other families.

"In fact," he said, "many in-state students from families earning up to $125,000 a year are awarded scholarships and grants that pay half their tuition."

U-M President Mark Schissel said the Go Blue Guarantee program puts college within the grasp of more students without hurting middle class families who earn more money.

"The Go Blue Guarantee cuts through the complexities of financial aid to help us reach talented students from all communities in our state. I have always believed that talent is ubiquitous in our society, but opportunity most certainly is not," Schissel said.

U-M said the program amplifies its long-standing commitment to meet financial need for all in-state students, and it does not reduce any need-based aid for students from families earning more than $65,000. In fact, many in-state students from families earning up to $125,000 a year are awarded scholarships and grants that pay half their tuition, the university said.

The program provides four years of free tuition to students with a family income of up to $65,000, within certain asset limits. The $65,000 benchmark is roughly equal to the state's median family income of $63,893 (2015). These students also may be eligible for additional aid to cover non-tuition costs.

Photo by Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy via Flickr Commons