By
JERRY WOLFFE
As
more than 750,000 Michigan public college students prepare to start a new
school year, older adults are finding it harder than ever to participate, a new
report says.
Michigan
offers no financial aid grants to attend a public university or community
college for those who graduated from high school more than 10 years ago.
Two
of Michigan’s three higher education grants are aimed at students who
graduated a decade or less ago, according to a new policy brief released
Wednesday by the Michigan League for Public Policy. And the third one can
only be used at private institutions, which are generally more expensive.
“We
know that postsecondary education is so important in today’s economy,” said
Gilda Z. Jacobs, president and CEO of the Michigan League for Public Policy. “Helping
older workers sharpen their skills or pursue studies leading to in-demand jobs
will help Michigan’s economy.’’
The
League’s report, State
Financial Aid Leaves Adult Learners Behind, shows that
financial aid grants that once helped older students have disappeared as Michigan
made recession-era cuts to higher education. Those eliminated were the Adult
Part-Time Grant, the Michigan Education Opportunity Grant, the Michigan Nursing
Scholarship and a state Work-Study program.
That
leaves three major grants: The Tuition Incentive Program, aimed at students
from low-income families, and the Michigan Competitive Scholarship, which are
only available for 10 years after high school graduation while the third, the
Michigan Tuition Grant, does not set a post-graduation limit but is only
available for attending private, not-for-profit institutions.
“Leaving older workers out of financial aid
programs is a flaw in Michigan’s workforce development strategy that needs to
be fixed,’’ Jacobs said. “ The health of our economy depends on workers getting
the skills they need to become productive employees and support their
families.’’
(The
report may be found online: http://www.mlpp.org/state-financial-aid-leaves-adult-learners-behind)
Jerry Wolffe
is the writer-in-residence and advocate-at-large at the Macomb-Oakland Regional
Center. He can be reached at (586) 263-8950.
