Michigan’s Tuition Incentive Program: An Initial Look at Take-up
Like many states across the country, Michigan has an ambitious goal for increasing postsecondary attainment. In 2019, Governor Whitmer announced a goal for 60% of the adult population to have a post-secondary certificate or degree by 2030. Increasing college affordability has been a key strategy for reaching this goal in many states, particularly in Michigan where a broad set of programs now serve a diverse set of students, including the new Community College Guarantee. In order for these efforts to work, students must know about their eligibility for programs and be able to access them. Extensive research suggests that we shouldn’t take this as a given, as many students are unaware of the supports they are entitled to or have difficulty navigating the process to receive them. This brief is part of a larger study examining Michigan’s Tuition Incentive Program (TIP), a financial aid program that covers community college tuition for students who received Medicaid during childhood. It is currently one of the state’s largest financial aid programs. TIP is notable in that eligibility is determined early for many students and is based on participation in a well-known safety-net program, the benefit can be stacked on top of the Federal Pell grant, and it does not require annual eligibility determination. In this brief we describe the TIP program, examine historical trends in eligibility, and document patterns in participation in the program among those that are eligible using newly-matched administrative data through 2023. We distill some recommendations for policy-makers considering similar free college programs. In follow-up analyses, we will further explore explanations for these patterns through extensive semi-structured interviews with high school counselors throughout the state.
Key findings
1. TIP is an important guarantee of affordable college for many Michiganders. More than one-third of high school graduates are eligible for TIP, and this share increased between 2011 and 2022.
2. However, participation in TIP is far from complete, despite the program’s value and extensive outreach efforts. Only 14% of eligible high school graduates receive TIP within two years and only 29% of TIP-eligible community college enrollees do. Nearly all TIP-eligible community college students should be receiving TIP.
3. Clear information about eligibility appears critical to take-up. Students with early and consistent Medicaid enrollment, which determines TIP eligibility, have significantly higher take-up than those who barely qualify or do so later. Early and consistent Medicaid participation likely results in greater knowledge about eligibility. Take-up is also higher at high schools with greater FAFSA filing rates and at colleges where staff can access information about students’ eligibility.
4. Administrative hurdles cannot explain all of the low take-up: less than 50% of TIP-eligible community college enrollees who received Pell Grants (indicating FAFSA filing and engagement with colleges’ financial aid offices) also received TIP, and take-up did not increase with the removal of an application requirement.