April 2026

At a time when rising costs and shifting federal and state policies are making it harder for students to afford and complete college, Michigan is taking a critical step: turning strategy into action.

The Hope Center for Student Basic Needs is proud to continue and expand its partnership with the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential (MiLEAP) and its Office of Higher Education (OHE), with support from ECMC Foundation and the Joyce Foundation. Together, we are working to strengthen student basic needs security across the state—ensuring students have access to the food, housing, healthcare, and financial stability they need to persist and succeed.

Building on the Michigan Student Basic Needs Task Force and its landmark report, Barriers to Bridges: Strengthening Michigan Communities by Addressing College Student Basic Needs—which The Hope Center helped shape through statewide research, analysis, and student voice—this next phase marks a critical shift: from recommendations to implementation.

Over the next two years, The Hope Center will serve as a key consulting partner to MiLEAP, working alongside state leaders, institutions, and community stakeholders to translate those recommendations into coordinated, statewide action. Together, we will develop a clear implementation roadmap that identifies priority strategies, assigns ownership, and creates durable pathways for advancing this work across Michigan.

This effort is grounded in a simple but urgent truth: when students’ basic needs are met, they are far more likely to stay enrolled, complete their degrees, and thrive.

From Recommendations to Results

This next phase of our partnership will focus on advancing a set of priority recommendations from the Task Force through structured, collaborative implementation. The Hope Center will support MiLEAP and partners to:

• Develop a statewide implementation roadmap outlining policy, administrative, and budget pathways to advance key recommendations
• Identify clear ownership and accountability structures across agencies and institutions
• Support state budget development, including recommendations for basic needs–related investments
• Facilitate stakeholder convenings and coalition-building to sustain momentum and deepen cross-sector collaboration

Provide ongoing guidance and technical assistance to help partners navigate barriers, accelerate progress, and document impact

A Model for Statewide Action

Michigan has emerged as a national leader in recognizing and addressing college student basic needs. This next phase of work reflects a shared commitment to not only understanding the scope of need—but building the infrastructure required to meet it. 

These efforts directly support Michigan's Sixty by 30 goal of ensuring 60% of working-age adults hold a postsecondary credential by 2030.

“Student success starts with ensuring every learner has their basic needs met,” said Dr. Beverly Walker-Griffea, director of MiLEAP. “When students have access to food, housing, health care and financial stability, they are more likely to persist and complete their credentials. This next phase of work with The Hope Center is important because it moves our shared recommendations into coordinated, statewide implementation—building the systems and partnerships needed to support student success across Michigan.”

“The Hope Center has long believed that data must be a tool for action—not an endpoint,” said Dr. Sara Abelson, Hope Center Senior Director and principal investigator on the project. “Michigan has built an extraordinary foundation by centering student voices and taking a clear-eyed look at the barriers students face. We’re honored to continue this partnership and to help translate this vision into durable, statewide change.”

Looking Ahead

This collaboration reflects The Hope Center’s broader commitment to supporting states in building comprehensive, evidence-based approaches to student basic needs—approaches that are responsive to evolving policy landscapes and grounded in the lived realities of students.

As Michigan moves from planning to implementation, this partnership serves as a model for other states seeking to take bold, coordinated action to support student success.

Interested in partnering with The Hope Center to advance student basic needs work in your state system?

to learn more about our technical assistance, research, and policy support.