At the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential (MiLEAP), our mission is to expand access to state scholarships and grants and make sure every student in Michigan has a real pathway to a postsecondary credential. In Academic Year 2024-25, MiLEAP provided more than $558 million in financial aid to over 153,000 Michigan college students! This reflects a 30.4% increase in students served (compared to the 2023-24 academic year) and with your support, we can help more students identify a path to postsecondary education and career success.
Who We Are
Located within the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement and Potential (MiLEAP) the Office of Higher Education is focused on connecting with students and families, high school counselors, college access professionals and others to increase awareness and access to state scholarship and grant programs. By making financial aid easier to navigate, the Office of Higher Education is helping students see that college is possible. There are many ways to pay for college in Michigan and across multiple pathways, check out all state financial aid programs at: Michigan.gov/MiStudentAid.
What We Do
The Office of Higher Education outreach team provides financial aid resources and information to all Michigan students, encouraging them to explore and pursue postsecondary education. Our team administers MI Student Aid programs, including the Michigan Achievement Scholarship and the Tuition Incentive Program. We also provide training to high school counselors and college access professionals, present outreach events statewide, and offer one on one assistance and resources to help students and families better understand the financial aid process. In the 2024-25 academic year, the outreach team provided over 400 outreach events statewide and connected with over 52,000 attendees!
How You Can Help Your Students
To better inform students about the financial aid process, programs and benefits available, including eligibility for state financial aid programs, consider taking the following steps.
- Use the MI Student Aid program publications available to help inform students and families about the various scholarships and grants available through the State of Michigan.
- Schedule an event with the outreach team. Whether it’s a Michigan Achievement Scholarship presentation, financial aid night, college fair or Tuition Incentive Program (TIP) Talks, we want to engage with your students and their families.
- Utilize our Digital Toolkit to help spread the word about the Michigan Achievement Scholarship. Education staff can use different aspects of the toolkit as needed. Including, email blast language, social media posts, morning announcement scripts, newsletter language, etc.
- Complete and submit a 2025-26 Data Use Agreement (DUA). Having a DUA on file with MiLEAP allows High School Users to view student records in the MiSSG system including:
- FAFSA completion data
- Michigan Achievement Scholarship qualifying student data
- Tuition Incentive Program (TIP) qualifying student data
- CEPI student data
This data helps high school staff provide timely support to students to improve FAFSA completion rates and build postsecondary awareness—an important step toward college affordability and success. The DUA can be submitted at any time and can be revised throughout the school year. The DUA must be completed and submitted electronically via email to MiStudentAid@Michigan.gov by the authorizing principal/superintendent.
Partner With Us
The MiLEAP Office of Higher Education is excited to partner with you to bring important resources to your community, increase awareness about state financial aid programs and help students reach their educational goals. To learn more about state financial aid programs and the services and support available visit: Michigan.gov/MiStudentAid. Together, we can help more students in Michigan access a path to postsecondary education.
The Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential is not affiliated with National Merit Scholarship Corporation or its registered trademarks National Achievement®, Achievement Scholarship®, or Achievement Scholar®.