Western Wayne Today

For approximately 20% of Michiganders, the "free tuition" that is being touted under the new Michigan Reconnect program has a caveat, which means that some low-income people seeking a degree may still be out of luck.

The Michigan Reconnect program covers in-district tuition, mandatory fees and contact hours, according to Michigan.gov.

Eligibility for the program requires that students have lived in the state for at least a year, be at least 25 years old, have a high school diploma or equivalent, and have never previously received any college degree -- either an associate’s or bachelor’s -- according to Michigan.gov.

But for older students who have never thought they could afford college before now, the “in-district” portion of “in-district tuition” may not catch their eye, and that is where the program’s key caveat lies. 

Community colleges in Michigan receive most of their funding from local property taxes, according to Bridge Michigan. Each community college is associated with a community college district, and additional property taxes levied within that district are used to support programming at the community college.

For students living in those community college districts, those local property taxes also mean a special, in-district tuition rate at the associated community colleges. But if someone wants to attend a community college in a district where they don’t live -- because either programming is offered that isn’t available in their own district or because their district has no community college -- they could pay an out-of-district rate twice as high as the in-district rate.

Out-of-district students can still use Michigan Reconnect, but the program will only cover the portion of their tuition that would be charged to an in-district student. For someone who can’t afford community college, that half-measure may be no more meaningful than having no assistance at all.

Only 33 of Michigan’s counties are in a community college district, according to Bridge Michigan. The other 50 -- where approximately 20% of the state’s population lives -- are also home to many of Michigan’s poorest residents who tend to have lower educational achievement levels.

Alyssa Merton, a coordinator of the Local College Access Network in Oceana County, said the situation is frustrating for people in a community with districts both directly north and south, and a population with high poverty rates and low educational attainment. Merton said she has already had difficult conversations with potential students who had only heard that the state would now cover tuition, without understanding the fine print.