After high school graduation, there are many options for continuing your education. Most financially and personally rewarding careers require at least a bachelor's degree. Michigan's 15 public universities offer hundreds of quality degree programs. Plus, studying at an in-state public university costs less than a private or out-of-state institution.

More than 150,000 Michigan 8th graders will receive this spring (2007) a publication entitled EduGuide with a key message: Prepare NOW for college or you’ll waste a lot of your time, money and talent later. The steps outlined in the publication, distributed free through school districts to all 8th grader students, will improve high school graduates’ preparedness for both college and the world of work – and increase Michigan’s college-going and college completion rates.

“It’s vital that students and parents recognize that high school is not an end of education – it’s just another step toward higher education. That may be a four-year university, community college or trade school. But the path needs to be mapped out now. It’s too late to decide during your junior or senior year that you want to get ready for your future,” said Michael A. Boulus, executive director of the Presidents Council, State Universities of Michigan, a sponsor of EduGuide–High School Years.

The glossy, easy-to-ready magazine-like publication lets students and their families in on the big changes facing students today, including Michigan’s more rigorous mandated high school curriculum and replacement of the high school Michigan Education Assessment Program with the Michigan Merit Exam, a combination of the ACT traditionally used by college-bound students and the ACT WorkKeys skills assessment. The EduGuide also provides information on how to start planning to pay for college early, and ways to earn college credits during high school years.

The EduGuide–High School Years is one in a series of three full-color magazines being given free to public, charter and private schools for all families of incoming elementary, middle and high school students. The publication will help families prepare children and young adults for success in college and careers, especially those families who haven’t participated in postsecondary education themselves.

“Michigan’s universities are dedicated to creating a culture of learning and education in our state,” said Boulus. “The EduGuide program is a great way to start telling young people and their families at a fairly young age about the harsh realities of our state’s new economy and the value of higher education. A high school degree doesn’t open many doors in a world that increasingly values talent and knowledge.”

EduGuides are created by the Partnership for Learning, a nationally award-winning media and training nonprofit organization. The EduGuide–High School Edition is being made possible by a collaboration called College Goal consisting of the state’s 15 public universities, the Presidents Council, the Lumina Foundation, the Michigan Scholars Program, the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth, the Michigan Student Financial Aid Association and more than a dozen other organizations.

The EduGuide–High School Edition can be viewed here. Additional information for families of all ages can be found at www.PartnershipForLearning.org.

Video:
The Future Starts Here
Students from Michigan's public universities share what higher education means to them.
(11.6 MB

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