With the start of fall semester classes at Michigan colleges and universities only a month or so out, the frenzied push to get more new high school graduates to complete the federal financial aid form for the coming year continues.

As the first generation to go to college in her family, Brandy Johnson, president of the Michigan Community College Association, has a passion for making college accessible. It’s why she founded the Michigan College Access Network in 2010 and years later in that role nudged then-gubernatorial hopeful Gretchen Whitmer and other candidates to set a bold post-secondary attainment goal for the state, make college more affordable and community college tuition-free.

With a “better” FAFSA, the new Community College Guarantee, and the same old challenges of getting on track for college, prospective college students need support. That’s why the Mason County District Library, Mason College Access Network, Mason County Promise Zone and West Shore Community College have teamed up to offer drop-in college access support over the next two weeks at both the Ludington and Scottville branches, they announced in a press release.

As fewer students choose to go to college amid rising tuition rates and record national debt, state data show Michigan college graduates still significantly out-earn their peers.

Earlier this month, I had the honor to serve on a panel about advising best practices at a gathering of the Detroit Drives Degrees Community College Collaborative (D3C3) at Schoolcraft College. Jamie Storey, director of higher education innovation at Michigan College Access Network (MCAN), opened by asking each panelist why academic advising is core to a college’s mission.

This summer, the Lapeer County College Access Network is striving to ensure that college-intending students complete their enrollment processes and avoid falling into a phenomenon known as “summer melt.”

According to 2022 Census data, only 17% of Detroit residents have a college degree. That number is low compared to college rates in other cities and across the state, said Cyekeia Lee, the director of DCAN. That’s why the organization is following Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Sixty by 30 goal, which aims to have 60% of working-age adults obtaining a skill certificate or college degree by 2030.

The Public Schools of Petoskey recently earned a national honor, being recognized as one of 27 School of Excellence awardees by the ACT’s American College Application Campaign. Petoskey High School was nominated by the Michigan College Access Network for the award.

In Detroit, these problems have tested the resilience of vulnerable young people already facing barriers to higher education. It is a roadblock that looms large in a city where just 17% of residents hold a college degree.

State outreach programs have been working to get students and families the assistance they need to submit their FAFSA. The newest program is from the Michigan College Access Network (MCAN) and the Office of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential (MiLEAP). It’s called the Retired Educator FAFSA Specialists Program, or REFS.