Michigan Reconnect
Summary
This project examined the characteristic of participants of Michigan Reconnect, a scholarship program that provides adults age 25 and older with tuition-free in-district community college and that is overseen by the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity's (MDLEO) Office of Sixty by 30. This work is part of our long partnership with MDLEO and builds upon our previous projects to study Futures for Frontliners, a similar program that provided tuition support to those in essential jobs early in the COVID-19 pandemic. Our research on Reconnect compared applicants to the broader pool of people eligible for the program; matched applicants to administrative enrollment records to understand prior college experience; examined applicants’ intended field of study in relation to the availability of high-demand, high-wage jobs in the State; and documented overall patterns of applicants by gender, race, and age. Our analysis provides key insights into the backgrounds of program applicants and encourages efforts to align students' educational plans with labor market opportunities. YPL partnered with colleagues from the Education Policy Initiative, the Upjohn Institute, the University of Illinois, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia on this project.
