Dr. Richard Pappas, president of Davenport University, told the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee that the elimination of the Michigan Tuition Grant removed critical support for adult and part‑time students and contributed to enrollment losses at private colleges.

"This past year we had 750 students enrolled who were expecting to receive the Michigan Tuition Grant ... we actually have 1,100 students who qualified for the Michigan Tuition Grant," Pappas told the subcommittee. He said Davenport moved unbudgeted funds to help affected students and that "we just looked at, dragged together some parts of our budget and gave almost $400,000 of unbudgeted dollars" to offset the loss for some students. Pappas said that, at Davenport, about 400 students who had qualified for the MTG did not enroll after the grant was eliminated.

Pappas said the MTG provided a $3,000 award that primarily supported adult and part‑time students and that its loss was an "unintended consequence" of creating the Michigan Achievement Scholarship, which targets recent high‑school graduates. He told senators that roughly 15,000 students statewide qualified for the MTG prior to its elimination and asked the legislature to restore the MTG for the coming year.

A Davenport student, Jesse Ward, told the subcommittee he is a first‑generation college student who used the MTG to make college affordable. "Because of the Michigan Tuition Grant, students receiving this grant can give back to their communities through service and volunteerism," Ward said, describing how the award allowed him to prioritize studies and campus leadership roles while avoiding heavier work hours.

Committee members asked for enrollment figures and noted the statewide scope of the issue. A subcommittee member said institutional reports estimate roughly 1,500 students statewide either enrolled or would have enrolled last fall who would have qualified but did not receive a grant; witnesses replied that institutions absorbed some costs to make students whole but that the scale of loss remains under review.

The testimony was informational; no committee action on restoring the grant occurred during the hearing.