By: Joseph Poulos

Muskegon – MCC has been named one of six community colleges in Michigan which are being awarded up
to $300,000 by the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advance and Potential
(MiLEAP).

The effort, which was launched by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2023, seeks to provide interested
citizens with the ability and resources to seek and obtain postsecondary education credentials
with the goal of increasing career-level wages across the state.

The funding itself comes from the Reconnect Enroll with Momentum Grant initiative. There is a
distinct focus on adult learning and allowing former students to continue their degrees in order
to obtain more gainful employment.

MCC will receive the maximum payout of $300,000 to further their matriculation of adult
learners. In a two-year grant period, which started in August 2026 and is set to continue until
July 2028, the college will be given the opportunity to plan and execute a tactical approach
geared towards increasing the number of adult learners in the student body.

Additional focus will be given to resources which will make the path back to university-level
education more seamless for a potential adult learner.

In a press release announcing the statewide funding, Dr. Beverly Walker-Griffea, executive
director of MiLEAP sympathized with the difficulties facing adult learners today:

“For many Michigan adults, the path to college is not always clear or easy to navigate,” she
said. “These grants give colleges the opportunity to identify and remove barriers that can keep
adults from taking that next step, while creating stronger connections between education,
careers and the needs of Michigan communities.”

The grant comes with the caveat that colleges, county governments and community-based
organizations must work together in order to help the adult learners reach their goals. This
includes removing barriers which may prevent older learners from returning to school in the first
place.

In the same press release, Sarah Szurpicki, deputy director of the MiLEAP Office of Higher
Education briefly touched on the difficulties facing potential adult learners today:
“Michigan’s colleges understand the unique barriers facing adult learners in their communities,”
Szurpicki said. “These grants give institutions the flexibility to develop practical solutions that
meet adults where they are and help them take the next step toward a credential and a career.”
This grant is being wholly welcomed by MCC. President John Selmon was excited by the new
funding and looking forward to the school’s implementation of new strategies which may serve
the adult learner more thoroughly.

“Muskegon Community College is honored to be among six Michigan colleges selected by
MiLEAP to receive a Reconnect Enroll with Momentum Grant,” Selmon said. “This funding will
enable MCC to strengthen support for adult learners through targeted strategies that improve
enrollment, retention, and completion.”

Selmon was pleased that the new funding would be specifically targeted towards bringing adult
learners back into the fold.

“By helping more adults access and succeed in higher education, we are advancing our mission
of transforming lives and strengthening our community through learning,” he said.

The grant will help to bolster MCC’s already active Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) initiative. This
program allows adults to receive standard academic credits for any relevant experiences they
might have had outside of the traditional college system. This includes professional training,
industry certifications, military service, and workplace experience.

The initiative itself was laid out to help remove obstacles which often prevent adults from
deciding to go to college in the first place. It also places special emphasis on helping adult
learners finish their college degrees by limiting the time and costs they need in order to receive
their degree or certificate.

“Our adult learners bring years of valuable experience into the classroom, yet too often they
have been asked to start from scratch,” Selmon said. “By helping students receive credit for
prior learning, we can shorten the path to graduation, reduce costs, and create more
opportunities for working adults to achieve their educational and career goals.”