Wayne State University announces free tuition program for some students
(CBS DETROIT) - A new program at Wayne State University is taking the stress off of families and students working to cover tuition.
The Wayne State Guarantee provides free tuition to incoming Michigan students with family incomes of $70,000 or less.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer joined Mayor Mike Duggan and campus leaders on Monday to announce the historic program.
"Wayne State has meant so much to this city. Right now, you see all the stuff booming downtown but,15-20 years ago when Detroit was in a real economic decline, the boom was in Midtown. And it was Wayne State expanding its mission, adding student housing, reaching out to more people that really was the first step in the city coming back," Duggan said.
The state's new Michigan Achievement Scholarship will also help cut costs and increase the number of working-age adults with a skill certificate or college degree to 60% by 2030.
"All of our collective efforts will help us make sure that we close the skills gap. And when we do that, we put people, all people, on a path to prosperity and success here in Michigan," Whitmer said.
According to a university release, 46% of first-year Wayne State students had zero out-of-pocket tuition costs and fees in 2022.
Wayne State has the lowest tuition in comparison to Michigan's top three research institutions.
"I've worked my butt off trying to get the best grades possible, working as hard as I can and even then I had this fear in the back of my mind that I wasn't going to be able to go to the colleges that I wanted to because I wouldn't have been able to afford them. This guarantee is just a life-changing opportunity and it's paying off everything I've worked so hard to get," said recipient Seynabou Coly.
