Hello Friends!

It is my great pleasure to share with you our latest Oakland80 Newsletter!

Recently, Michigan Reconnect expanded to include residents between the ages of 21-24. Michigan Reconnect continues to offer free in-district tuition at a Michigan community college for students to earn an associate degree or Pell-eligible skill certificate. Of the job postings that list education requirements in Oakland County over the past year, 66% required an associate degree or higher. The demand for highly skilled workers is projected to increase over the next several years and we need to make sure that our neighbors, families, and friends are prepared to meet that challenge.

Higher rates of postsecondary education attainment have numerous benefits beyond higher wages and lower unemployment. According to a recent Lumina Foundation – Gallop Poll, “US adults with a post-high school education have better health and well-being, are more likely to have jobs that align with their natural talents and interests, and increased civic engagement.”

We need to do our best to equip our residents and students with the education and skills they’ll need to secure high paying jobs, this includes helping our youth population. Currently, many of our schools are struggling – from secondary schools dealing with increasing counselor to student ratios, to postsecondary schools struggling with declining student success rates. That is why the work we do under Oakland80 is so critical. We bring together a cross-sector of organizations representing education, business, labor, public, private and non-profits to help develop strategies and solutions to encourage residents and support students so that they reach their educational goals.

I hope you enjoy this edition of the Oakland80 Newsletter, which provides a lot of information on the work being done to promote post-secondary education opportunities. If you’d like to learn more about Oakland80 and how you or your organization can get involved, please reach out to me directly. We’d love to add your organization to our growing list of Oakland80 Roadshow stops, where we can share more in-depth information on the progress we’ve made and the hard work ahead.

Thank you for your ongoing support and partnership!

More than 32,000 Michigan residents ages 25 or older, about 3,000 of them in Oakland County, are enrolled in the Michigan Reconnect program to receive free tuition to earn a two-year associate degree or skills certificate.

This program, launched in 2021, is a key component to the state’s Sixty by 30 goal of having 60 percent of eligible adult learners obtain a postsecondary degree or certification by 2030.   

Building on this early success, the state recently expanded program eligibility rules to include another 350,000 Michigan residents as young as 21, who are eligible to apply now through November 15 of next year.

“Students ages 21 to 24 are adults, too, and we’re responding to their needs,” said Alisha Cederberg, Administrative Manager, Office of Sixty by 30, Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO). “It’s wonderful we can offer this resource to them, but it’s for a limited time.

“To qualify, these students must enroll in college classes or a skills certificate program no later than the fall 2024 semester.”

Cederberg added that Oakland Community College (OCC) and other postsecondary schools across the state are enthusiastic about the Reconnect program’s expansion to include younger students.

“Colleges say these are the students that were most disrupted by the COVID pandemic,” she said.  “Many put their educations on hold.  The schools are excited to now provide them with the chance to come back and receive free tuition to finish their degrees.”

According to Rachel MacMaster, Data Analyst, Office of Sixty by 30, LEO, more than half of the students ages 21-24 who have applied to participate in the expanded Reconnect program are already enrolled in community college.  Most qualify to get their tuition expenses reimbursed through the Reconnect program.

“We’re also really excited to see a number of students in this group who have not yet enrolled, but see this as an opportunity to now go back to school,” she said.

Cederberg added, “OCC has been a great partner for us, embracing the Reconnect program and strongly encouraging students to apply.”

Oakland County’s ambitious goal of having 80 percent of eligible adults earn a college degree or skills certificate by 2030 is being supported by a data-sharing arrangement with LEO.

The state provided Oakland80 administrators with the data of over 18,000 local Futures for Frontliners and Reconnect students – some who have applied, others who have enrolled in classes and some who have not made a decision yet to return to school.

An email, text and phone outreach campaign by Oakland County’s Career and Education Navigators was launched to help inform these students about Oakland80 supportive services and other resources to help them complete their education. 

“Oakland County has been a powerful player in both the Futures for Frontliners and Reconnect programs,” Cederberg said.  “The outreach campaign is an example of their innovative approach to encouraging people to take advantage of all the resources available to them.”

This aggressive approach in Oakland County has spurred the state’s Sixty by 30 program team to begin conversations with education and government officials in other parts of the state.  The goal is to set attainable degree and certification targets for their areas and then develop effective strategies for reaching specific audiences with messages related to the value of a postsecondary education.

To apply to Michigan Reconnect, visit: michigan.gov/reconnect/community-college/apply

Career and education Navigator Helps Oakland County Resident Complete Degree