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In the 2025-2026 State Procedures Manual, the Office of Higher Education is revising the definition of initiation for the purposes of eligibility for the Michigan Achievement Scholarship.
Starting in Academic Year 2025-26, students will meet the requirement to “initiate within 15-months of graduation” if they enroll in an eligible institution within 15-months at any enrollment level.
Previously, to meet the initiation requirement, students had to either:
- Receive the Michigan Achievement Scholarship within 15-months, or
- Be certified as full-time and exceeds Cost of Attendance (COA)/Tuition and Fees (T&F) - not in need of a Michigan Achievement Scholarship award.
Students meet the requirement to initiate within 15-months of graduation even if they did not have a FAFSA on file at the time of their enrollment, did not meet SAP, or did not enroll full-time.
This policy is active starting in Academic Year 2025-26 and applies to all students who graduated in 2023 or beyond. Awards cannot be made retroactively for previous academic years.
To be eligible for the Michigan Achievement Scholarship, students must:
- Graduate with a diploma, certificate of completion, or high school equivalency in 2023 or later.
- Initiate within 15-months of graduation.
To receive an award through the Michigan Achievement Scholarship, students must:
- Enroll full-time.
- Have a completed and verified FAFSA, and
- Meet all other requirements to be awarded Michigan Achievement Scholarship.
Manual: MiLEAP OHE is finalizing the 2025-26 State Procedures and Procedures Manual to the maximum extent possible without a FY26 state budget. We will be sharing this preliminary manual with you soon, and the manual will include this revised definition. We’ll host an informational webinar to review changes (including this one) and answer questions.
Technology: We are working to update MiSSG as quickly as possible to help you identify and certify newly eligible students. Until these MiSSG changes are processed, it is possible you will see students listed as “ineligible” who may qualify. Once MiSSG is updated, we will continue to communicate with institutions as progress moves forward.
Communication: We will send emails to students that are likely eligible based on their previous enrollment and FAFSA submission.
The Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential is not affiliated with National Merit Scholarship Corporation or its registered trademarks National Achievement®, Achievement Scholarship®, or Achievement Scholar®.
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