Whitmer launches new department in quest for 'tuition-free' Michigan

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive order on July 11, creating a statewide department that will assist with educational resources to ensure that K-12 students are on a path to “tuition-free” college.

In a state that already has an education department, the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential (MiLEAP) will share Whitmer’s goals of universal and state-funded pre-K over four years, as well as tuition-free college.

“I’m establishing MiLEAP today because we need to get every kid started early, in pre-K, so they succeed in kindergarten, have paths after graduation to get higher education tuition-free, and forge strong partnerships with our employers so they can get a good-paying, high-skill, and in-demand job,“ Whitmer said.

MiLEAP’s stated goals include accelerating progress toward the state’s “Sixty by 30 goal” (of increasing the number of “working-age adults with a skill certificate or college degree from 50.5% today to 60% by 2030”) so that everyone in the state can “earn a skill certificate or degree after high school, tuition-free.”

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Effective Dec. 1, MiLEAP “will ensure all available resources, data, and funds are aligned around a single vision—building an education system that can support the economy of the future and help anyone make it in Michigan.”

Jakob Loutzenhiser, a senior at Ferris State University and president of FSU College Republicans, said he is concerned about how Whitmer’s education goals will be funded. 

“I really like the idea of having [parents] send their kid to pre-K for free, but my concern comes from where this money is coming from and how much it will cost the people of Michigan,” Loutzenhiser said. “It seems like there isn’t a ton of knowledge of what the price tag is.”

Similarly, Republican House Leader Matt Hall criticized MiLEAP as worsening a flawed educational system. 

“Connecting students throughout their education makes sense in theory, but it won’t do much to actually help our next generation,” he tweeted. “Expanding a broken system without fixing it and improving accountability is an empty promise and not a solution.” 

MiLeap comes as the state will invest a record amount into its K-12 schools. 

Michigan’s 2023-2024 budget features $24.3 billion toward education, including the state’s largest per-pupil spending of $9,608 per student, the Michigan Education Association reported. 

Michigan is not the only state looking to fill in-demand jobs. 

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Campus Reform recently covered a report from thinktank Texas 2036 that found “fewer than 30% of Texans earn a postsecondary credential within six years of graduating from high school,” despite 70% of Texas jobs being expected to require education or training after high school by 2036.

Both Texas and Michigan share Whitmer’s goal of increasing the number of adults with a skill certificate or a college degree from 50.5 percent to 60 percent by 2030. 

Campus Reform contacted Governor Whitmer for comment; this article will be updated accordingly.