NEWS

Error costs MSU $480K, ends college prep program for Lansing kids

Associate provost calls error 'a very sad and unfortunate incident'

RJ Wolcott
Lansing State Journal

EAST LANSING - A technical error by Michigan State University staff will bring an end to a longstanding college preparation program for Lansing High School students.

MSU submitted a renewal of its Upward Bound program grant last fall, which provides nearly $480,000 per year in federal funding. It had been used for more than 50 years to give about 100 students each year from Lansing's three public high schools an opportunity to receive tutoring and help with federal loan forms and to visit college campuses.

Federal officials rejected MSU's request in February. The reason? A description of the program was mistakenly not included in the grant request. MSU was not allowed to appeal or amend its request, leaving a shortfall equal to 80% of the Upward Bound office's budget of about $600,000, according to Sekhar Chivukula, associate provost for undergraduate education at MSU.

“This is a very sad and unfortunate incident,” Chivukula said.

The university will have to wait five years to submit a new grant request, which Chivukula said MSU plans to do.

“We remain committed to partnering with the Lansing School District and to do our part as a member of the community,” he added.

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Chivukula said the error was made by MSU staff but declined to elaborate.

Officials from the U.S. Department of Education did not respond to requests for comment.

Lansing Superintendent Yvonne Caamal Canul said she is disappointed the program is ending, but added she looks forward to seeing what MSU and the district come up with as a replacement.

“Maybe a shift needed to happen to get the creative juices flowing on unique, new ways of partnering,” Caamal Canul said.

Upward Bound is one of eight TRIO programs created in the 1960s to give low-income, first-generation college students or individuals with disabilities opportunities to further their education.

While the program shuts down May 31, Chivukula said the remaining 102 students will still receive some help preparing for college. What services they'll receive is still being discussed, he said.

MSU’s Upward Bound program celebrated its 50-year anniversary last fall. Tyrell Warren-Burnett, director of annual giving at the Washington State University Foundation and a graduate of the program, returned to East Lansing for the event to talk with students and staff.

“The program has had a huge effect on a lot of different students. It opens doors to education that wouldn’t be opened otherwise,” Warren-Burnett said Friday.

The Everett High School graduate applied for Upward Bound in the late 1990s. His trips to colleges in New York, Chicago and Atlanta helped reinforce his desire to attend and graduate from college, which he did at MSU.

“For students, having a support system like Upward Bound is important," he said.

Contact RJ Wolcott at (517) 377-1026 or rwolcott@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @wolcottr.