Michigan State Expected to Fund Upward Bound

Officials say that Michigan State University (MSU) will fund its Upward Bound college prep program for Lansing high school students, ensuring that the program would not be shut down because of the university’s technical error in a grant application.

MSU disclosed earlier this month that the error would cost the Upward Bound office about $480,000 in federal funding — 80 percent of its operating budget — and result in the program having to shut down as of May 31. The TRIO program, created to give low-income, first-generation college students or individuals with disabilities opportunities to further their education, would not have been eligible to re-apply for that grant for five years.

Lansing School District spokesperson Bob Kolt now says that MSU officials told the district earlier this week that the university would continue to help students prepare for college. The program typically provides about 100 students each year from Lansing’s three public high schools with tutoring, help with federal loan forms and visits to college campuses.

“MSU has shown once again they are committed to the students in the Lansing School District,” Lansing School District Superintendent Yvonne Caamal Canul said in a statement to the Lansing State Journal. “This partnership will continue to inspire and promote the next generation of graduates.”

The program at Michigan State has been operating for more than 50 years.

Contributing: Associated Press