Michigan community colleges urge sustaining scholarships, operations funding and capital investments

Brandy Johnson, president of the Michigan Community College Association, told the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Higher Education and Community Colleges that community colleges are “the Swiss army knife of institutions of higher education” and urged lawmakers to sustain recently created student-aid programs and increase operations and capital funding for two‑year institutions.

Johnson said Michigan’s 28 public community colleges and three tribal colleges serve more than 283,000 students and rely on a funding model once envisioned as “a three‑legged stool” funded roughly one‑third each by state appropriations, local property tax and tuition and fees. “In reality,” she said, “our stool is a little wobbly with only about 23% of our revenue coming from state appropriations.”

The Association asked the committee to: make the Michigan Achievement Scholarship permanent including the community college guarantee; maintain community college operations funding at least at 4%; continue full funding for the Michigan Indian Tuition Waiver; and invest $45 million in an “ITEMS” package (infrastructure,…