More than 32,000 young people in the United States exit the foster care system in a typical year by aging out to independence (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2011). Despite available financial support for post-secondary education through the Foster Care Independence Act of 1999, only 20% of college-qualified foster youth attend college and…

The Kalamazoo Promise, announced in 2005, is an innovative college-scholarship program available to every graduate of the Kalamazoo (Michigan) Public Schools. Programs such as the Kalamazoo Promise, which is being emulated in cities across the United States, open new avenues for the acquisition of human capital regardless of income level or…

This study surveyed the extent of Special Educational Opportunity Programs (SEOP) for disadvantaged students among higher education institutions in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin, in an initial attempt to establish baseline data on the nature and range of SEOP activities. From the results of a questionnaire administered to both…

Equality of access to postsecondary study in Michigan is discussed in terms of the establishment of a system of higher education that would provide equity in terms of: (1) individual selection and support services, (2) student financial assistance options, and (3) institutional and programmatic articulation. A synthesis of several major past…

This study examined the relationship between students' socioeconomic characteristics and qualification for a merit scholarship in a new, state-run program. The Michigan merit award scholarship program provides scholarships of up to $2,500 for students who score at Level 1 or 2 of the Michigan Educational Assessment Program High School Tests.…

Attention has periodically been given to inequality of opportunity in higher education in Michigan by both the governor's office and the state board of education. Activities to date have been based upon the premise that disadvantaged students have often been effectively excluded from participation in higher education, and that certain procedures…

The Detroit College Opportunity Program, funded under Title I of the 1965 Elementary Secondary Education Act, is designed to provide remedial support, instructional assistance, academic stimulation, and personal, educational and vocational counseling for selected eligible students so that their chances to become successful college students will be…