“Michigan Reconnect” critical to strengthening state’s workforce and economy
The program’s advocates—including United Way of Southwest Michigan—are calling on state legislators to include funding for “Michigan Reconnect” in the next 2022 state budget proposal and pass it in the fall so the program can continue.
Remember what it was like to be a kid with a dream? When the world seemed like your oyster? You were eager to learn. You couldn’t wait to work hard. Maybe you weren’t sure yet what or how, but you wanted to make something of yourself and build a future. Every generation has faced unique challenges in the pursuit of their dreams—with varying degrees of support along the way. No one has ever had it easy, but our country is predicated on the principle that everyone should have an equal chance.
Today’s students are no different. The world keeps changing—fast and furious—and different obstacles crop up to limit success. Every person has a stake in making sure that anyone who wants a fair shot gets one—that way, all of society prospers. “Michigan Reconnect” is a state-funded program that does exactly that.
“Michigan Reconnect,” which launched in early 2021 by the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, gives state residents aged 25 and older, who have a high school diploma or equivalent and didn’t already graduate from college, the opportunity to attend local community colleges tuition-free. The program requires all students to apply for federal financial aid in order to participate, and the state will pay the remainder of tuition costs not covered by federal grants. Students have four years to earn their degrees.
Even though the program is brand new, its future is already uncertain. “Michigan Reconnect” is part of Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s goal that 60 percent of the state's residents have a skill certificate or college degree by 2030, and she has proposed continued funding. However, the state legislature has yet to include the $30 million program in its budget proposal for the 2022 fiscal year.
Bridge to opportunity
Rebecca Miller is experiencing first-hand how crucial “Michigan Reconnect” is for students at Lake Michigan College in Benton Harbor. She is a work/study student at the college and works in the admissions department. “I see so many younger students, who maybe had some academic missteps after high school, and they’re in the late 20s now and they’re grateful and excited they can get on track while they’re still young,” she said. What’s more, “the pandemic made a lot of people realize jobs in certain sectors aren’t always dependable, and they’re at the age now where they’re starting families and they need stability.”
Miller, a 38-year-old Bridgman resident who is currently a sophomore studying sociology, can relate to the situations a lot of younger students face. She originally attended Lake Michigan College when she was 18 and right out of high school. She knew she wanted a career giving back to the community somehow, but “I wasn’t prepared for college yet,” she said. The transition out of the structure of high school was difficult for her. Instead, she became a hair stylist, but after a few years, realized that wasn’t what she wanted to do long-term. Then, she worked at Four Winds Casino for 12 years. The desire to return to college was always there, but life happened—marriage, mortgage, bills. “As you get older and have more responsibilities, your financial burden grows,” she said. But she eventually made the leap—leaving her job in 2020 and enrolling at Lake Michigan College once again, and she’s earning a near-perfect GPA.
She too now is a beneficiary of “Michigan Reconnect.” Upon completing her associate’s degree, she plans to transfer next spring to Siena Heights University, which has a campus in Benton Harbor, to earn a bachelor’s degree in community and human services with a concentration in family systems. She hopes to eventually earn a master’s degree in social work. Her long-deferred dream is taking shape and coming true. “I will be able to give back to the community I live in, ideally with our senior population,” she said. “‘Michigan Reconnect’ is making all this possible for me.”
“I could have done this sooner if something like ‘Michigan Reconnect’ had existed 10 years ago,” she said. “But it’s never too late.”
New skills, fulfilling future
Steve Closson couldn’t agree more. At the age of 55, Closson, a resident of Baroda, is finally pursuing his dream of working in the hospitality industry. “I’ve always had the personality,” he said. “I just need the paperwork.”
Thanks to “Michigan Reconnect,” Closson is on his way to getting that paperwork and becoming only the second person in his family to earn a post-secondary degree. He is beginning his coursework at Lake Michigan College this summer. Once he finishes his associate’s degree, he plans to transfer to Ferris State to earn his bachelor’s degree. His goal is to eventually work as a general manager at a hotel in a resort area.
Closson entered the workforce straight out of high school, starting his career in the 1980s as a computer operator. “I put my nose to the grindstone and learned that way,” he said. “But I don’t like being surrounded by equipment and not talking to people, so I was always looking for customer-based IT work where I could interact with others.” He currently works as a call center supervisor at a dermatology office in St. Joseph. “I love fixing problems, making people feel better, and taking away their worries,” he said—something he can do with even more gusto in his new field given his passion for hospitality.
He always wanted to go to college, but “I was sweating the financial part of it,” he said. “‘Michigan Reconnect’ is the answer to my prayers.”
Make Michigan more competitive
Miller and Closson are two of about a thousand students in Southwest Michigan who are pursuing further education with the help of “Michigan Reconnect,” according to Jeremy Schaeffer, Director of Admissions & Recruitment at Lake Michigan College. About 400 students have already been approved for the program, and about 600 are in the process of being approved. The current-year funding from the state only gets those students through the summer and fall terms of 2021.
“It would be a tragedy if ‘Michigan Reconnect’ is not funded in the 2022 state budget,” Schaeffer said. “Especially as so many students are seeing new hope for their futures. How many will walk away from education without the help of this program? Pulling the rug out from under them just when they’re getting started will be catastrophic to many lives.”
Removing barriers to credential and degree attainment is important for building a stronger economy. With fewer than half of Michiganders holding a post-secondary degree or certificate, the state is behind the rest of the country in terms of the employability of Michigan’s workforce. “For a long time, our state had job opportunities that didn’t require post-secondary training and could provide for a family, but life is more expensive and jobs are more competitive now. We have to retrain the community because the jobs of the future require advanced training and knowledge,” Schaeffer said.
Community colleges are essential to providing that training and knowledge, and are an affordable option as some students work toward more costly advanced degrees. But enrollment at community colleges is going down across the country and in Michigan. The pandemic contributed to enrollment drops at community colleges last year of 13.2% in the state and 10% at Lake Michigan College.
“We had already been seeing a steady decline in enrollment of about 2-3% every year for the last several years prior to the pandemic,” Schaeffer said. “If these declines continue here and elsewhere, it will have a major impact on the state. We need ‘Michigan Reconnect’ to jumpstart enrollment again.”
A more educated and skilled workforce improves not only the financial health of those workers, he said, but also attracts employers to the state, increases tax revenue, results in stronger infrastructure, improves the quality of industries, and makes life better for everyone.
“We hope that ‘Michigan Reconnect’ not yet being included in the 2022 budget proposal is simply part of the back-and-forth negotiation process, and that it will be in the final proposal that gets approved in the fall,” Schaeffer said. “State legislators need to realize how crucial this program is to the future prosperity of our state. As education administrators, we need certainty so we can help these students going forward.”
Rebecca Miller, a 38-year-old Bridgman resident, is currently a sophomore at Lake Michigan College in Benton Harbor and plans to eventually earn a master’s degree in social work. “I will be able to give back to the community I live in, ideally with our senior population,” she said. “‘Michigan Reconnect’ is making all this possible for me.”
NEWS FLASH
Success Story Follow-up
ANOTHER ADVOCACY SUCCESS! Since we published this story, the Michigan state legislature passed a bipartisan budget for fiscal year 2022, which Governor Whitmer signed into law, that includes increased funding for “Michigan Reconnect.” The program will be funded at $55 million, up from $30 million last year. The additional funding will go toward tuition AND wraparound services like childcare and tutoring. BUT there could be additional funding for this program in the future. Thank our state legislators for their support of “Michigan Reconnect” AND ask them to bolster it with additional dollars.
At the age of 55, Steve Closson, a resident of Baroda, is finally pursuing his dream of working in the hospitality industry. “I’ve always had the personality,” he said. “I just need the paperwork.”
Closson always wanted to go to college, but “I was sweating the financial part of it,” he said. “‘Michigan Reconnect’ is the answer to my prayers.”
“I could have done this sooner if something like ‘Michigan Reconnect’ had existed 10 years ago,” Miller said. “But it’s never too late.”
UWSM advocates for greater education access
Aspiring students need a system that helps them climb in the circumstances of today’s world. United Way of Southwest Michigan is one of the organizations that has their backs.
United Way’s 2021 Advocacy Agenda is focused on creating systems that help working people thrive, with a particular emphasis on Southwest Michigan’s ALICE population (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed). The ALICE population—whose incomes are above the Federal Poverty Level but below the basic cost of living—makes up about 37% of households in Berrien, Cass, and Van Buren counties. These families are working hard but still struggling to afford necessities. Additionally, United Way addresses inequities in education and economic opportunity that disproportionately affect those living below the ALICE threshold as well as other marginalized communities. Many families struggling to make ends meet come from historically under-resourced, underserved, marginalized communities, including people of color and people experiencing poverty.
One of United Way’s advocacy agenda items is: Address Michigan’s skills gap and help ALICE gain the job skills needed to increase their household income by removing barriers to credential and degree attainment.
How can we accomplish this?
Include funding for the Michigan Reconnect Economic Growth/Workforce Development Program and necessary wraparound services in the state budget & promote Career Technical Education opportunities for K-12 students.
Why is this important in Southwest Michigan?
Post-secondary educational attainment is shown to produce higher wages for individuals and families. Increasing access to education for the 37% of Southwest Michigan households living below the ALICE threshold would enable them to increase their economic mobility.
70% of all jobs in Michigan require some post-secondary education or certification.
There is a need in our trades industries for certified individuals, but there aren’t enough people getting certified through high-school or post-secondary programs. A strong focus and investment in career pathway programs will allow students to begin education that leads to certifications in K-12 and complete it quickly in post-secondary programs.
Closson is beginning his coursework at Lake Michigan College this summer. Once he finishes his associate’s degree, he plans to transfer to Ferris State to earn his bachelor’s degree. His goal is to eventually work as a general manager at a hotel in a resort area.
Photos by Ashley Tenter