Higher Education Innovation
MCAN works with institutions across the state to strengthen and align Michigan’s higher education system, reduce barriers for students, and increase college attainment.
Initiatives
Gateway Course Redesign Faculty Academy
The Gateway Course Redesign Faculty Academy is an 18-month, faculty-driven initiative designed to support colleges and universities in rethinking and restructuring key gateway courses at scale to improve student persistence and completion.
College Completion Corps
MCAN’s College Completion Corps places AmeriCorps members on partner college campuses across Michigan. Each coach serves a campus-defined cohort of 100-150 students who are first-generation, low-income, and/or students of color.
Roadmap to Opportunity
Roadmap to Opportunity highlights in-demand, high-wage careers in Michigan through videos, printed collateral, and professional development for school counselors, college advisers, and other practitioners working directly with students.
Local College Access Networks
LCANs are community-based college access alliances supported by a team of community and education leaders representing K-12, higher education, the nonprofit sector, government, business, and philanthropy.
Advocacy and Alignment
Higher Education Strategy Council
The Higher Education Strategy Council, previously known as the Higher Education Advisory Board, is crafted with the overall vision and purpose of hosting stakeholders in support of MCAN’s mission and work affecting systems-change within all higher education institutions.
Michigan Postsecondary Organization Leadership Alliance
Michigan College Access Network is proud to convene the Michigan Postsecondary Organization Leadership Alliance, a collaborative initiative uniting leadership from several key state professional organizations.
Educated Workforce Advisory Board
The Educated Workforce Advisory Board is a new coalition with the ultimate purpose of elevating existing collaborations and building systemic connections among K-12, higher education, and the workforce system in support of Michigan’s Sixty by 30 goal.
Michigan Higher Education Attainment Roundtable
Michigan Higher Education Attainment Roundtable (MIHEART) is an ongoing, cross-sector collaborative that seeks to promote, advocate for, and guide policy changes that will raise postsecondary attainment levels and improve Michigan’s talent pipeline.
Michigan Promise Zones Association
MCAN works closely with the Michigan Promise Zones Association by providing technical assistance and support to ensure that these "placed-based" scholarships are helping students pursue a postsecondary education.
Grants
Innovative Program Grants
Innovative Program Grants are designed to support innovative, data-informed programs and projects that increase college readiness, enrollment, and completion in communities across the state.
Resources
Aspire Higher: An Undocumented Student's Guide to College in Michigan
This guide is designed to help students and their families by providing resources available for undocumented students interested in pursuing education after high school, regardless of citizenship status.
College Affordability in Michigan (NCAN Snapshot)
This is a state of Michigan profile outlining key college affordability measures in Michigan. It incorporate state-specific data on the Pell Grant, FAFSA completion, college enrollment, and degree attainment.
ALICE Report from the United Way
Standing for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed - ALICE represents those in our communities who are working yet still struggling to make ends meet. The ALICE Report is the most comprehensive depiction of need in Michigan to date.
Free Tuition Programs for Low-Income Students
A list of free tuition programs for low-income students at 4-year colleges and universities in Michigan, including brief descriptions and links.
Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW)
Reports and data developed by Georgetown University Center, focusing on education and the workforce.
MI School Data
State of Michigan's official public portal for education data to help citizens, educators and policymakers make informed decisions that can lead to improved success for our students.
Michigan Achievement Scholarship
The Michigan Achievement Scholarship provides up to $4000 per year to qualifying Michigan students in the class of 2023 and beyond who attend an in-state college or university.
Michigan Institution Updates
This site features a list of all 84 public and private, 2-year and 4-year colleges in Michigan. You can find institution-specific information such as admissions and financial aid by navigating through the tabs at the top of the page.
Michigan Student Aid
Information on Michigan's financial aid offerings, including the Michigan Achievement Scholarship, Community College Guarantee, and Michigan Reconnect.
Stronger Nation: A Lumina Foundation Reporting Tool
Lumina Foundation tracks the post-high school educational attainment of Americans ages 25-64. Since 2008, that figure has increased by 10 percentage points in Michigan.
The Journal of College Access
A peer-reviewed, academic, open access, online journal with a focus on how students aspire to, gain access to, enroll in and persist in higher education institutions. The Journal is published periodically.
Press Releases
MCAN Executive Director Ryan Fewins-Bliss Appointed to Central Michigan University Board of Trustees
On March 4, 2026, MCAN Executive Director Ryan Fewins-Bliss has been appointed to the Central Michigan University Board of Trustees by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
MCAN celebrates budget wins, evaluates tough cuts
Education priorities mostly survive tough, drawn-out negotiations over fiscal year 2026 budget
Leading Michigan organizations join MIHEART to advance the state’s Sixty by 30 postsecondary attainment goal
Four key organizations join higher education-focused cross-sector collaborative
Blogs
Rewriting the Story of College Access: How Equitable Opportunities Change Trajectories
For students who have long faced systemic barriers, these ripple effects don’t happen by chance. They happen when systems are intentionally redesigned to expand opportunity — not restrict it.
From College Adviser to University Champion: Nick Booza on College Access, Community, and the Power of Connection
As MCAN celebrates 15 years of transforming college access in Michigan, we’re sharing stories from the front lines — the advisers, partners, and champions who’ve helped thousands of students navigate their path to higher education. Nick Booza, now assistant director for freshman recruitment at the University of Detroit Mercy, got his start as an AdviseMI college adviser. His story reminds us why this work matters and how its impact ripples far beyond individual students.
Closing the Gap: Michigan's Journey Toward Sixty by 30
While many colleges and universities are increasing their student support programs, too many first-year students arrive on campus without knowing where or how to get help — particularly low-income learners, students of color, and first-generation college-going students, continue to navigate college systems that weren’t designed to support them equitably.