Financial aid plan revamped and Go Blue Guarantee launched - Faculty/Staff (June 17, 2021)

Dear Colleagues,

Today the University of Michigan Board of Regents affirmed UM-Dearborn’s commitment to student success, academic excellence and creating access and opportunity for qualified students, with the approval of the university’s $155 million 2021-2022 general fund operating budget. 

The fiscal year 2022 budget includes a 1.9 percent tuition increase, which aligns with the Higher Education Price Index and is well below the expected state of Michigan cap. As UM-Dearborn continues to be challenged to serve students with less state support, maintaining the excellence of our education programs and ensuring access to the university are among our top priorities. This increase is the lowest possible that allows us to continue to meet these priorities. 

Go Blue Guarantee Extended to UM-Dearborn 

The Regents also extended the Go Blue Guarantee – U-M’s landmark promise of four years of free tuition for high-achieving in-state undergraduate students from low-income backgrounds – to the Dearborn and Flint campuses. Beginning this fall, full-time, high-achieving undergraduate in-state students who are admitted to and attend UM-Dearborn will automatically qualify for the award if they have a family income of $65,000 or less and assets below $50,000.

In addition to meeting the income and asset provisions, incoming first-time college students need a high school GPA of at least 3.5 to qualify for the Go Blue Guarantee and will be eligible for up to eight semesters of free tuition. Incoming transfer students need a transfer GPA of at least 3.5 and will be eligible for up to four semesters of free tuition. Returning students at UM-Dearborn who have not exceeded the semester limit as noted will be eligible starting this fall and must have a GPA of at least 3.0. Program specifics are available on the UM-Dearborn Go Blue Guarantee website with additional information added as it becomes available. 

The initiative is supported by donors including the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and Kathy and Jim Hackett. The expansion to Dearborn and Flint will include financial support from the Ann Arbor campus for at least six years as the programs become established, and the Guarantee will be a focus of fundraising in the years ahead. 

The extension of the Go Blue Guarantee to UM-Dearborn will allow us to continue our efforts to focus on providing an accessible University of Michigan education to high-achieving students throughout southeast Michigan. We are grateful for the leadership of President Schlissel, the Regents and our philanthropic partners on bringing this important initiative to our campus.

The Go Blue Guarantee is for full-time undergraduate in-state students. UM-Dearborn will continue to provide significant financial aid for those students who do not qualify for the Go Blue Guarantee based on individual need and merit.

As of last fall, we have been running a pilot program that was aligned with our need-first financial aid strategy, offering incoming first-year students full tuition awards that met the above criteria. These additional funds will help to supplement the already significant investment that UM-Dearborn has been providing during the pilot program. 

$15-an-hour Minimum Wage for Permanent Workers 

The university will also move to a minimum $15-an-hour minimum wage for all permanent workers on campus. This commitment will go into effect July 1, 2021. This minimum wage commitment will be implemented across all three campuses. 

Tuition Information 

Last year, to align with our commitment to student success, the university introduced a “block tuition” structure to encourage undergraduate students to take increased course loads and graduate more quickly and economically. 

Tuition and fees will increase 1.9 percent for all students. 

• Full-time, in-state, undergraduate students will see a $264 annual increase to $13,816.
• Out-of-state undergraduate students will see tuition and fees at $28,048, or about $528 more than last year, for full-time lower-division rate. 
• Graduate students will see an increase of about $180 annually, for in-state students, or $336 annually, for out-of-state students, for the typical part-time (6 credit hours per term) graduate rate. 

The university will continue with the reduced registration fee of $200 per semester that was introduced last year. Faculty and staff will continue to have the parking fee waived. Details about securing a parking permit will be shared later this summer. 

I would again like to commend you for all that you’ve done, during these challenging times, to be more efficient, reduce expenses and keep our tuition increase as low as possible. During the last fiscal year, our leadership team voluntarily reduced their salaries, we instituted a voluntary furlough program, froze all reserve funds in the colleges and units, halted travel and tuition reimbursement for non-UM programs, stopped all non-essential construction work and reduced expenditures on utilities, general supplies, vendor services and other non-critical expenses. These changes enabled the university to successfully manage our resources during the pandemic and present the Regents with a balanced budget for fiscal year 2022. 

To help the UM-Dearborn community better understand our budget decisions, we have posted information on our website. 

Thank you for your continued commitment to providing our students with a quality education while maintaining public health and fiscal responsibility.

Go Blue - Go Dearborn!

Domenico Grasso
Chancellor