Talent & Education

The enrollment drop last fall was particularly pronounced among Black, Hispanic, and low-income students, groups hit hard by the pandemic and the resulting economic strain. See how college enrollment rates in your school district changed in 2020.

With just one month before students are to take the state M-STEP, it’s uncertain what test they’ll take, or whether Michigan’s read-or-flunk law for third graders makes sense during a pandemic.

State officials and colleges are learning what marketing experts have known for years: “Free” is a powerful draw.

The Great Start Readiness Program offers state-funded preschool for 4-year-olds from low- and moderate-income families. But funding hasn’t been boosted since 2014, leaving school districts to make up the difference.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s programs offering tuition-free community college to low-income students and frontline workers have fueled a race among four-year universities to promote similar deals. Millions of Michigan residents can now qualify for free or deeply discounted degrees.

With a blizzard of new “free tuition” programs, it can be confusing who qualifies for what and where. Here’s a place to start your research on the real cost of higher education across Michigan.

A massive vaccination program has given MSU hope to return to something close to normal in the fall. But as with everything in the pandemic, those plans are subject to change.

A growing percentage of Michigan students have the option of learning in classrooms at least part of the week, as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations decline and vaccinations rise.

The U.S. is requiring standardized tests this year amid COVID. Ordinarily, that would mean the statewide M-STEP, but state Superintendent Michael Rice wants districts to choose among assessments, leaving the issue in limbo.

Michigan school officials didn’t want to make students take standardized tests this spring because of the disruptions due to the pandemic. Federal officials aren’t giving them a choice.

With billions at stake, Michigan school groups are pushing to have the COVID relief formula changed to shrink the funding advantage being given to poor districts under federal relief bills. Some impoverished districts would get 100 times more funds under the U.S. formula.

Ann Arbor, Kalamazoo and Lansing have yet to decide whether to reopen to in-person classes, despite declining COVID-19 cases and the urging of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer that schools find ways to safely reopen.

A $370 million infusion could make child care more affordable for 150,000 families and keep struggling child care centers afloat.

Nearly two-thirds of Michigan teachers have received at least the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine or are set to get it, according to a survey by the state’s largest teachers union, spurring more districts to make plans to reopen.

GVSU is following some Michigan universities by offering savings to students in six Michigan counties. The program covers tuition and class fees, but not other attendance expenses that can still prove steep for some families.

Many residents in northern, rural and more low-income regions do not qualify for free tuition because they’re not in “community college districts.” The state can close the gap with another $7.5 million.

A new program called Michigan Reconnect offers free tuition at community colleges and many job training programs.

More than 120,000 essential workers signed up for free community college tuition through the Futures for Frontliners program. The state expects to launch a similar program soon for the roughly 3 million Michigan adults over age 25 who lack a college degree.

COVID-19 cases are dropping statewide, but at Michigan’s two biggest universities, new coronavirus concerns have led to campus clampdowns on gatherings.

The variant, known as B.1.1.7., spreads faster and takes longer to detect, worrying health officials already racing to distribute a short supply of vaccines.