Michigan officials are touting a significant rise in the number of students who received state financial aid for higher education in 2024-2025, while encouraging more to seek such assistance.

The state awarded more than $558.9 million in state financial aid to more than 153,000 Michigan students during the 2024-2025 academic year, as detailed in the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential’s annual State Scholarships and Grants Report.

The milestone reflects a 30.4% increase in students served and an additional $183.5 million in aid awarded compared with the 2023-2024 academic year, according to a news release from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s office.

MiLEAP has also announced a newly upgraded MiSSG Student Portal to modernize the financial aid experience and improve transparency for students and families.

“Every Michigander deserves a fair shot at success, and that starts with making higher education more affordable,” Whitmer said in the news release. “… This builds on our commitment to lowering costs and ensuring more Michiganders can get the skills they need to support their families through good-paying jobs. Let’s keep working together to help more families ‘make it’ in Michigan.”

“Postsecondary education is essential to Michigan’s future, for our students, our families, and our communities,” said Dr. Beverly Walker-Griffea, director of MiLEAP. “At MiLEAP, our mission is to make sure every Michigan has a real pathway to a postsecondary credential, and these numbers show that mission is working. By expanding access to state scholarships and grants, we are unlocking potential for tens of thousands of students, supporting their dreams and advancing Michigan toward its Sixty by 30 goal.”

Michigan’s “Sixty by 30” goal aims to increase the number of working-age adults with a skill certificate or college degree to 60% by 2030.

Programs such as Michigan Reconnect provide tuition-free opportunities for eligible adults at community colleges, while the Michigan Achievement Scholarship significantly lowers costs for recent high school graduates pursuing a range of postsecondary education opportunities, including career training, an associate degree through the Community College Guarantee, or a bachelor’s degree at one of Michigan’s public or private universities. The MI Future Educator Fellowship and Stipend further reduce the financial burden for students preparing to become teachers in Michigan while addressing critical shortages in the teacher educator pipeline.

Together, these programs help more Michigan students enroll, complete their credentials, and gain the skills needed for good-paying, in-demand careers, ensuring that access to education keeps pace with the state’s workforce and economic needs, the news release states.

As a result of these investments, state financial aid is reaching students across various institution types and programs. According to the report, during academic year 2024-2025 —

— Students attending public universities received more than $292 million in state aid;

— Students attending community colleges received more than $184 million;

— Students at private institutions received more than $78 million; and

— Students enrolled with eligible training providers received more than $4 million.

In total, more than 180,000 awards were issued across Michigan’s public universities, community colleges, private institutions and approved training providers.

“Expanding state financial aid is one of the most important ways we can ensure that opportunity reaches every community in Michigan,” Ryan Fewins-Bliss, executive director of Michigan College Access Network, said in the news release. “For students from low-income families, first-generation college students, adult learners and students of color, the cost of college has too often been the barrier that stands between talent and opportunity. The growth in state scholarships and grants means more of these priority populations can see a real, affordable pathway to a certificate or degree.”

To build on this progress and support more Michiganders in accessing financial aid, the upgraded MISSG Student Portal — https://www.michigan.gov/mistudentaid/missg — is designed to streamline how students, families, high school counselors and college administrators access and manage these resources. The system includes a new, user-friendly dashboard that allows individuals to quickly view the status of their state scholarships and grants, complete applications for select programs, update their college on file and track the status of payments.

These improvements make it easier for students to understand the aid available to them, reduce barriers in the application process and help more Michiganders stay on track to earn a credential, the state advises.

“State financial aid can be the difference between a student enrolling in college or putting their education on hold,” said Sarah Szurpicki, deputy director for the Office of Higher Education at MiLEAP. “These scholarships and grants help students see that college is within reach.”

As Michigan’s economy and workforce continue to evolve, these efforts reflect the state’s greater commitment to helping more Michiganders pursue postsecondary education, earn credentials and access good-paying, in-demand careers – continuing momentum toward the state’s Sixty by 30 goal.

Students interested in learning more about financial aid programs and eligibility can go to  Michigan.gov/MiStudentAid. For more on MiLEAP, go to Michigan.gov/MiLEAP.