Whitmer seeks more money for college program with 12% completion rate

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer requests an additional $25 million for an education program with an 88% incompletion rate in her 2027 and 2028 Executive Budget Recommendation.

The governor signed into being Michigan Reconnect in 2021 with the goal of providing taxpayer-funded community college classes to residents 25 and older studying for an associate degree or skills certification. The program was originally budgeted at $30 million.

“The governor’s recommendation raises total Reconnect funding to $67 million and calls for lowering the eligibility age to 21, significantly broadening access to associate degrees and workforce credentials for adult learners,” stated Whitmer’s budget.

In the four years since the program began, the state has not developed measures to determine if it is successful, according to a blog post by Molly Macek, education policy expert, and James Hohman, fiscal policy director at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.

The post noted that only 11% of 123,193 participants in the program have earned credentials.

That figure later increased to 12%, according to a state-run dashboard that tracks the program.

One of the concerns over the program, according to Macek and Hohman, is that legislators do not assess whether Michigan Reconnect helps recipients in their careers.

Although colleges file annual reports stating how many students use the program, the state does not require schools to report whether participation has led to higher-paying jobs.

Michigan Capitol Confidential asked four of the state’s largest community colleges how many students were enrolled through Michigan Reconnect and how many graduated each year since the program began.

The institutions were: Grand Rapids Community College, Lansing Community College, Wayne County Community College District, and Washtenaw Community College.

Lansing Community College, the only school that responded, had 726 students receiving Michigan Reconnect tuition assistance in 2021-22, and 756 students in 2022-23. It has 963 Michigan Reconnect students in 2023-24.

The number of college students who graduated using the program was 39 in 2021, with another 64 in 2022. The year 2023 saw 146 participate, another 212 received benefits through the college in 2024, and 148 used the program in 2025, according to an email from Marilyn Twine, public information officer at Lansing Community College.

Twine told CapCon that the numbers do not give the full story. She said totals can be influenced by a number of factors, including part-time status of students and when the program started.

Michigan Reconnect is one element of the governor’s Sixty by 30 plan — which aims to ensure that 60% of Michigan adults hold a skill certificate or college degree by 2030.