In 2025, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued a directive to boost male participation in higher education during her State of the State address.
“We've built great programs open to everyone, but we need to do a better job of getting more young men signed up,” Whitmer said during her speech. “My message tonight goes out to all young people, but especially our young men. I know it's hard to get ahead right now. But I promise you, no matter how hard life might get, there is always a way out and a way up.”
Now, the state is trying to make progress on that goal.
On Tuesday, Ferris State University and the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential (MiLEAP) hosted the first of five MI Kickoff events aimed at introducing young men to postsecondary education opportunities.
The deputy director of MiLEAP, Jason Wilson, said about 100 ninth and tenth graders participated in the event. The students were shown the classrooms, labs, and amenities at FSU.
According to state data from 2024-2025, nearly 53% of undergraduate students enrolled in postsecondary education were female, while 40% were male. Women also outnumber men in the Michigan Reconnect program, which provides free community college tuition for Michigan residents 21-years-old and up. For every man in Michigan Reconnect, there are two women.
Michigan is not alone. According to 2024 data from the American Institute for Boys and Men, there are 2.4 million more women in undergraduate programs than men nationally. Their data also shows the graduation rate from four-year institutions is 43% for men compared to 54% for women.
Jeremy Hendges is the executive director of the Michigan Center for Adult College Success. He said that common reasons young men don’t choose postsecondary education are financial barriers and the lack of career goals.
“The assumption was, you know, [men] dominated the labor market historically, you know, they'll continue to do well,” Hendges said. “But what we're seeing now is that we really need to engage males really from a young age in the elementary, K-12 system to really help them understand their purpose, their agency and what their options are and really lift them up.”
Wilson says that they’ve found men don’t choose higher education due to lack of pathway opportunities from high school, lack of quality high school experiences, mental health and a misconception that college has little “hands-on” learning opportunities.
MiLEAP has identified some strategies to incentivize young men to choose postsecondary education.
“Connect males to role models who have had positive college experiences, and really create teacher pipelines, male teacher pipelines, so that males can see themselves in education,” Wilson said. He also said creating more apprenticeship opportunities will help young men see that they don’t have to go through a traditional postsecondary route.
Hendges said it’s important to connect with non-tradition adult male students as well.
“Just because you're, you know, in your 20s, or your 30s, or even your 40s and you're just figuring out, ‘hey, I really want to go be an engineer. I really want to go do this, but I need a degree.’ It's making sure we can communicate to them that there is a pathway to do that,” Hendges said.
Whitmer’s 2025 directive mentioned the gender gap in higher education participation and completion as a key issue in her administration’s “60 by 30” goal, the initiative to have 60% of Michigan residents obtain a college degree or certificate by 2030.
The initiative also comes as many public universities in Michigan are facing decline enrollment, in large part due to a drop in international student enrollment.
The MI Kickoff event series will continue at Oakland University on Oct. 19. There will also be events at Saginaw Valley State University, Wayne County Community College District and Northern Michigan University.
“It's going to take everyone,” Wilson said. “Even though we're talking about males, we certainly need females to be a part of the solution. This is not a male problem that only males can solve.”
