College Access
Updates from the
Governor’s Office
MACRAO Summer Summit
June 18, 2009
Brandy Johnson-Faith
College Access Coordinator, Office of Governor Granholm
On the Agenda
• Michigan Promise/Promise Zones
• Michigan College Access Network
• Michigan College Access Portal
• Updates from CEPI – E-
Transcripts/LDS
Michigan Promise?
 Message from the Governor…
Promise Zones
 Inspired by the Kalamazoo Promise
 Economic Development Strategy disguised as a
scholarship program
 Communities with above-average youth poverty rates
could apply
 “Zone” could be a school district, city, ISD, township, or
county
Promise Zones:
What comes with the Promise?
 Promise MUST include:
 Funding sufficient to provide a student the tuition necessary to
obtain an associate's degree at a community college in Michigan
 Promise CAN include:
 Funding sufficient to provide a student the tuition necessary to
obtain a bachelor’s degree at a public postsecondary institution in
Michigan or combination of public postsecondary institutions.
 Funding sufficient to provide a student to attend a private college
in an amount not to exceed the average tuition necessary to obtain
a bachelor’s degree at all public universities in the state.
 Funding for educational improvement activities designed to
increases college readiness at public schools located in the promise
zone.
Promise Zones: Who Gets the
Promise?
 A Promise must provide financial assistance to ALL students
residing in the PZ and who graduate from a high school located
within that zone.
 Promise Zone may have some qualifications:
 Prorated based on the number of years student has resided
in the PZ/attended school in the PZ
 Requirement that student maintain minimum GPA or
classload
 Limited to specific institutions.
Promise Zones
 Must be last-dollar:
“A requirement that graduates of a public high school or
nonpublic high school exhaust all other known and available
restricted grants for tuition and fees for postsecondary
education provided by a federal, state, or local governmental
entity, as determined by the board.”
Designated Promise Zones
• Baldwin
• Jackson
• Battle Creek
• Lansing
• Benton Harbor
• Muskegon
• Detroit
• Pontiac
• Hazel Park
• Saginaw
Next Steps for Promise Zones
 Establish Promise Zone Authority
 Create Promise Zone Development Plan
 Raise necessary funds
 Start awarding scholarships
 After 2 years, Promise Zone begins to capture ½ of the
growth in the SET to fund the Promise into perpetuity
Michigan College Access Network:
Background
 June 2008: State of Michigan applied and was awarded
College Access Challenge Grant from U.S. Department of
Education. Governor Granholm designated Michigan
Department of Treasury to administer grant.
 July 2008: Governor’s Office and Treasury convened first
“College Access Working Group” to take stock of current
MI college access resources/services/programs, identify
areas of duplication, opportunities for collaboration, and
geographic/programmatic gaps.
Michigan College Access Network:
Background
 August: Consulted with National College Access Network
(NCAN) on best practices for other statewide college
access collaboratives
 September: Attended NCAN annual conference – learned
about “gold standard” states networks – Ohio College
Access Network (OCAN) and College Foundation of North
Carolina (CFNC)
 October-March: College Access Working Group continued
to meet to plan these initiatives
Governor’s
Education
Summit
April 28, 2009
Governor Granholm
officially announces
MCAN
MCAN
GOAL: To significantly increase the college participation rate
among low-income and first generation students.
Michigan’s first coordinating body for college access
programs.
Will support community-based college access programs
through advocacy, professional/program development,
technical assistance, and funding opportunities.
MCAN Members
Local college access programs that offer college access services to
low-income first-generation students, including:
 Advisory Services (Admissions and Financial Aid)
 Last Dollar Scholarships
 Resource Centers
 Retention
 Adult Learner Services
 Early Awareness
 Career Development
Michigan College Access Portal
 Web-based one-stop-shop where students
to plan, apply, and PAY for college.
 Interactive, dynamic tool for families,
counselors, educators, and other college
access professionals to use to best serve
Michigan Students.
 Modeled after the College Foundation of
North Carolina (www.cfnc.org).
Portal Functions
 Career planning tools
 Personal portfolio of high school courses, activities, awards, and test
courses which will be auto-populated into online admissions
applications
 Information about transferring between Michigan higher education
institutions
 A tool to measure progress toward meeting college entrance
requirements
 Referrals to local college access programs in the student’s community
 User-friendly profiles of Michigan colleges and universities, including
side-by-side comparisons, virtual campus tours, and a matching
assistant
More Portal Functions
 Free ACT test preparation resources
 Ability to submit all college-related documents online, including
admissions applications, FAFSA, transcripts, loan applications, etc.
 Opportunity to “ask an expert” on application-related questions
 A tool to search for grant and scholarship opportunities
 Ability to check status of student loans and get financial literacy tips
 A tool to open or access a student’s 529 College Savings Plan Accounts
Timeline
 RFP Process
 Portal Development (Design Teams)
 Beta Testing, Training
 Portal Goes Live
 Marketing and Outreach Efforts
Updates from CEPI
E-TRANSCRIPT EXCHANGE
CEPI will be working with a vendor to provide secure
electronic transcript services for use in high schools and
higher education institutions statewide.
Updates from CEPI
E-TRANSCRIPT EXCHANGEP-16 LONGITUDIANL DATA SYSTEM
By utilizing the state-issued UIC, the e-transcript exchange provides a
link between K12 and Postsecondary records across the state. This
enables the longitudinal tracking of students to occur.
This will further efforts to implement a Michigan P-16 Longitudinal Data
System. This will help MI monitor the # of MI students who attend
and graduate college.
Updates from CEPI
Message from CEPI:
 Expands access
 Goal is to provide the most flexible technical approach to the
transfer process
 High schools and colleges will not have to alter the technology
they use locally for managing student records.
 Contract will also ensure that the services are provided free of
charge to all students, high schools and participating colleges
and universities in the state.
Updates from CEPI
P-16 LONGITUDINAL DATA SYSTEM
 CEPI will work with state partners to plan LDS and
document project requirements
 Will use “10 essential elements of a LDS”
 ARRA Assurances
 Race to the Top Funds
Questions?
Contact Info
 Brandy Johnson-Faith
 College Access Coordinator
 Office of the Governor, Policy Division
 (517) 335-5113
 johnsonfaithb@michigan.gov