10 Michigan universities to accept any state high school grad with 3.0 GPA or better
Arpan LoboAs higher education institutions in Michigan continue to focus on boosting undergraduate enrollment numbers, a coalition of 10 public universities announced Tuesday they will admit any in-state student with at least a 3.0 grade point average applying to enroll next fall.
Leaders from the universities forming the Michigan Assured Admission Pact (MAAP) say the new enrollment standard will remove ambiguity from the admissions process and encourage more high schoolers to apply to colleges in state.
"This will help students very specifically because it demystifies the admission process for students and parents who are intimidated by this very process," said Central Michigan University President Robert Davies, during a media call Tuesday.
"They see that as a barrier, and this removes that barrier, specifically and especially for first-generation students and other students from under resourced areas."
The universities participating in MAAP for the Fall 2024 admission cycle are:
- Central Michigan University
- Eastern Michigan University
- Ferris State University
- Lake Superior State University
- Northern Michigan University
- Oakland University
- Saginaw Valley State University
- University of Michigan-Dearborn
- University of Michigan-Flint
- Wayne State University.
Not participating in the pact are the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Michigan State University, Grand Valley State University, Western Michigan University and Michigan Technological University. Currently, the admission standard only applies to students applying for enrollment next fall who will graduate high school in the spring of 2024. So, students who have taken so-called gap years won't be eligible.
All the participating universities reported enrollment drops from the 2021-22 academic year to the start of the 2022-23 school year, according to the latest Michigan Association of State Universities enrollment report. Enrollment challenges have been pervasive at several colleges in the state, including at Central Michigan University, where undergraduate enrollment has fallen to its lowest level in decades. Davies said first-year and transfer enrollment totals have increased for the current 2023-24 year, however.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has backed the plan, saying in a statement “(T)he MAAP is proof of what’s possible when we come together to create opportunity for tens of thousands of Michiganders." Whitmer also pointed to the Michigan Achievement Scholarship, available to students who attend an in-state university, community college or skills training program, as a tool to lower costs for recent high school graduates.
The number of high school graduates in Michigan has been declining since peaking in 2008, according to the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. The total number of graduates that year in Michigan was over 123,000, but the figure is projected to decrease by nearly 40,000 by 2037.
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Officials from MAAP schools said they don't believe the new initiative will have an overall effect on lowering admission standards.
"It's more about being open and transparent with students and families than it is about making changes, especially in lowering our admission criteria," said Joseph Vainner, director of university admissions at UM Flint.
Colleges and universities, in Michigan and throughout the U.S., have taken steps to bolster enrollment in recent years. After the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, many schools dropped requirements for including SAT and ACT scores on applications. In Michigan, several universities, including U-M, MSU, GVSU, CMU and others have also dropped this requirement.
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Contact Arpan Lobo: alobo@freepress.com. Follow him on X (Twitter) @arpanlobo.