Michigan public and tribal colleges could receive up to $1 million to help more Michiganders earn degrees or certificates

LANSING, Mich. – Today, the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential (MiLEAP) announced that Michigan community and tribal colleges and universities can apply for College Success Grants. The funding can be used to create, support or improve programs or strategies that increase student success and boost graduation rates.

“MiLEAP is excited to announce the next available grant opportunity to help all public Michigan colleges and tribal colleges and universities improve student outcomes,” said Michelle Richard, acting director of MiLEAP. “These grant dollars will provide the support our colleges need to implement new or build upon already successful programs. We encourage eligible institutions to take advantage of this grant program to help their students continue building on their success and thrive.” 

The College Success Grants are part of a new $45 Million Student Success grant initiative, the state’s first ever grant program aimed at increasing student success rates at Michigan community and tribal colleges and universities. The initiative will help the state achieve its Sixty by 30 goal of 60% of adults with a skill certificate or college degree by 2030 and ensure more Michiganders have the degrees and certificates needed to make it in Michigan.

“There is high demand for quality talent among Michigan’s small business owners. These College Success Grants remove many barriers to accessing higher education, further strengthening our talent pool,” said Small Business Association of Michigan (SBAM) President & CEO Brian Calley. “We appreciate the investments being made and the focus on student graduation rates, and we are eager to see students succeed as tomorrow’s workforce.”

The College Success Grants are broken down into three subcategories: Amplify, Accelerate, and Go Big. 

College Success Grant Subcategories

• Amplify: Include awards of up to $200,000 over the course of 1 to 2 years and focus on strengthening an already successfully implemented intervention that would benefit from a rapid infusion of funds or to sustainably scale up an intervention or improvement approach that has proven successful
• Accelerate: Include awards of up to $650,000 over the course of 2 to 3 years and focus on implementing, improving or expanding promising practices and evidence-based reforms that build on or align to a broader institutional student success strategy
• Go Big: Include awards of up to $1,000,000 over the course of 2 to 3 years and focus on scaling evidence-based improvements aligned to a coherent institution student success strategy and theory of change

Eligible Applicants

• Community colleges
• Tribal colleges
• Public colleges and universities
• Nonprofit organizations partnering with a college or university

There are three application and award windows for 2024, that include:

• April 12 application deadline with a May award date.
• July 12 application deadline with an August award date.
• October 18 application deadline with a November award date.

“The College Success Grants further cement Michigan’s longtime commitment to equitable college attainment and economic opportunity for learners across the state,” Complete College America (CCA) President Yolanda Watson Spiva said. “The strategies implemented through these grants are based on CCA’s evidence-based Pillars of Transformation: Purpose, Momentum, Structure, and Support. We look forward to supporting Michigan in extending these data-backed supports to as many students as possible and being a part of the state’s college completion strategy.”

The Sixty by 30 team will be hosting a webinar on March 22 from noon to 1:00 p.m. for an overview of the grant application, and the type of opportunities the state is looking to fund. Those who are interested in attending can register here. 

To learn more about these grant opportunities visit, Michigan.gov/Sixtyby30Grants. Interested parties can also subscribe to email updates on these opportunities at bit.ly/60x30-grants-updates. 

###