Week of December 4-10, 2006

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Granholm Says Michigan Promise Strengthens Michigan Families, Economy
.(MP3- 3MB)

Granholm Says New Merit Award Scholarship Most Important Bill Facing Lawmakers

$4,000 scholarship for all Michigan students most important bill facing lawmakers

No single piece of legislation that legislators are working on in this lame duck session is more important to Michigan's families and children than the new Merit Award scholarship – now called the Michigan Promise.

The Michigan Promise is a $4,000 scholarship that would be available to every student who wants to earn a college degree or technical certification. The current Michigan Merit Award is based on standardized test scores and is awarded to only half the students who graduate high school. The Michigan Promise, on the other hand, offers an approach that provides encouragement and financial support to the majority of Michigan students, including those who do not qualify for the current Michigan Merit Award.

Key features of the Michigan Promise include:

Beginning with the high school class of 2007 – this year's high school seniors – students can use the $4,000 scholarship to attend any college or university in Michigan, public or private, and a wide array of technical training programs.

Students who do well on the high school assessment can earn half their scholarship, $2,000, during their freshmen and sophomore years and earn the remaining $2,000 by successfully completing two years of post-secondary education, earning an associate's degree, junior status at a 4-year institution, or technical certification.

Students who do not receive a qualifying score on the assessment test can earn their entire $4,000 scholarship by successfully completing two years of post-secondary education. They will be able to demonstrate their "merit" by earning the post-secondary credentials that employers demand.

The Michigan Promise is in direct response to the central recommendation of the Cherry Commission on Higher Education and Economic Growth – that Michigan must make post-secondary education universal if students are to get the skills they need for the jobs that will exist tomorrow.

student And if we want the jobs of tomorrow in Michigan, we need to make this commitment to this year's high school seniors and beyond. The new scholarship program will send a powerful signal to employers across the country and around the globe that Michigan will have the nation's best-educated workforce. I believe this measure is not only necessary and desirable, it is critical to Michigan's economic future. To those who argue we can't afford a scholarship for all our students to pursue their education, I argue that we can and must invest in every student.

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The Governor’s weekly radio address is released each Friday at 10:00 a.m. and may be heard on broadcast stations across the state through an affiliation with the Michigan Association of Broadcasters. The address will also be available on the Governor’s Website on Mondays as a podcast for general distribution to personal MP3 players and home computers.