Year by Year
2010 It started with an idea.→
- Established MCAN
- Committed to 60% by 2025 (Lumina Foundation’s Big Goal)
- Launched 41 LCANs
2011 Young, scrappy, and hungry.→
- Held our inaugural conference
- Piloted Michigan’s first College Application Week with 38 high schools
2012 The power of collective impact.→
- Expanded College Application Week to 73 participating schools
- Adopted the Collective Impact framework for LCAN development
2013 Beyond humble beginnings.→
- Created Charting the Course, a guide for building local networks
- Held the first Maritime Academy for LCANs
- Began the Michigan College Access Alliance
- Introduced the School Counselor Postsecondary Planning Training Course
2014 Nationally recognized.→
- Held the first College Decision Day
- Reached $4 million in grants since inception
- Joined the White House College Opportunity Agenda task force and participated in College Opportunity Day of Action
2015 A turning point.→
- Founded AdviseMI, with 40 advisers and 12 partner colleges, in service to 51 high schools
- Established the Reach Higher grant program
- Started the College Cash Campaign
2016 Making it rain.→
- Began awarding Innovative Program Grants
- Awarded 100 schools with Reach Higher grants
2017 All about advocacy.→
- Served as a leading voice in the passage of Public Act 151 (HB 4181), a law that requires school counselors to receive 50 hours of professional development in college-career readiness every five years
- Held our first College Access Advocacy Day
2018 Howdy, partner.→
- Released the FAFSA Tracker
- Published the Total Talent Report in partnership with MIHEART
- Moved our office to 200 N. Washington Square in Lansing
2019 A year of change.→
- Revised our goal to Sixty by 30 to align with the State
- Named Ryan Fewins-Bliss executive director
- Realigned our mission, vision, and values to place greater emphasis on equity
- Launched the MI Postsecondary Strategy Institute (MPSI) in collaboration with the National Postsecondary Strategy Institute and The Kresge Foundation
2020 A voice for all students.→
- Adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic by providing COVID-19 resources, hosting a Meeting the Challenge webinar series, and presenting virtual College Access Impact Awards
- Awarded 108 COVID-19 response grants to assist postsecondary attainment efforts
- Initiated the College Completion Corps and the School Counselor Fellows program
- Began promoting the Governor’s FAFSA Challenge and College Cash Campaign, after partnering with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on these programs the year prior