Michigan State's new tuition program starts in fall 2024

EAST LANSING — Michigan State University on Monday announced a new program that will cover the full cost of tuition for high school graduates whose families make $65,000 or less per year, joining other public universities that have launched similar programs to make college accessible to a wider demographic of students.

The Spartan Tuition Advantage program will start with the fall 2024 semester, initially including about 1,500 students, MSU officials said. The university will cover tuition for all Pell Grant-eligible, in-state high school grads who meet the financial requirement. Eventually, the number of students is expected to grow to more than 6,000 a year.

Eligible students would only need to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, MSU said.

"MSU historically has provided great financial aid packages to in-state students for over 50 years as a means to reduce the financial barriers that can stand between students and their future success through a world-class higher education degree,” Teresa Woodruff, MSU's interim president, said in a news release. “The Spartan Tuition Advantage program is an exciting extension of our pledge to the success of future Spartans leaners.”

In the news release, officials said MSU's investment in the program demonstrates its "pledge to growing talent in the Greater Lansing area and beyond to ensure the state’s competitiveness" and will add to its current annual investment of $224 million in student financial aid.

These types of tuition programs aren't new but are growing in popularity, said Jamie Jacobs, deputy director of the Michigan College Access Network.

"I would describe them as high-impact programs," Jacobs said. "The No. 1 barrier for students and families thinking about college is affordability or what we would call the perception of affordability. (Programs like these) can make it sound like there's a pathway to affordability. They are particularly attractive for us. They help us fight the messaging that college is largely unaffordable."

Costs vary, but the general "sticker price" for tuition, fees, housing and food at MSU for the fall and spring semesters is about $27,800, MSU spokesman Dan Olsen said. Tuition, itself, is a little over $16,000.

The new financial aid program covers tuition only. Other programs are available to help students who need help with things like fees, textbooks and the cost of room and board, Olsen said.

Spartan Tuition Advantage will dovetail with the Michigan Achievement Scholarship program, expanding "the reach to help more Michigan students attend MSU," he said.

Since 2006, MSU has provided more than $387 million in financial aid to nearly 12,000 Michigan residents, officials said.

Other public universities across the state offer tuition-free programs to ensure that students from all demographics have access to higher education.

The University of Michigan's Go Blue Guarantee provides free tuition and tuition support to eligible students across the school's three campuses, the Detroit Free Press reported last spring. Students must have a family income of $65,000 or less and assets below $50,000 to be eligible at the Ann Arbor campus, the newspaper said.

This fall, Wayne State University began a program providing free tuition and standard fees to eligible students whose families make $70,000 or less a year and have $50,000 or less in assets.

The majority of such programs are for Michigan residents and are typically tuition-only, although eligibility criteria and other details vary, Jacobs said.

The Spartan Tuition Advantage program appears to be an expansion of an existing program with an annual income threshold of less than $26,000 per year, she said. Expanding the threshold to $65,000 a year will bring in a larger demographic of students and families, she said.

The median income in Michigan is now about $68,900, Jacobs said.

“The Spartan Tuition Advantage is yet another exemplary way in which Michigan State University is delivering on its land-grant mission,” Daniel Hurley, CEO of the Michigan Association of State Universities, said in MSU's news release. “This tuition pledge will open the doors to more young adults throughout the state, providing them with the opportunity to earn a life-changing degree from MSU.”

The announcement comes as the university celebrates Michigan College Month with the Michigan College Access Network. From now until Oct. 21, MSU is waiving the application fee for all in-state applicants, encouraging students to apply for college and financial aid as soon as possible. Michigan high school students can use the code Spartan1855 for their application fee waiver.

Contact Ken Palmer at kpalmer@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @KBPalm_lsj.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Michigan State expands its free tuition program. Here's who qualifies