(bright music) - [Speaker] Let's just start with the, the very basics.

What is it?

What is the overall goal of the program?

- The overall goal of the program, is Michigan needs to get more competitive in many respects, but one respect is those citizens who have a four year degree.

And that's because across the country states are starting to count how many heads they have in their state, as a percentage, with four year degrees.

Now, Michigan happened to start this race behind we were in the bottom third.

Now we're making up ground.

But the truth is, at least on this metric, Michigan has now decided across bipartisan divides that we need to have more four year degrees.

Now, the role we play in that, is to help a lot of people who are contemplating whether they should or can attend college.

We are an open access institution that has very few barriers.

We're in your neighborhood, our cost is low our programs are wide, and when you get to our college you get your way through at least two years of college.

And then if we're going to start making ground on this race against other states for four year degrees, we have to see our students onto the four year degree institutions.

And so, we lie at that intersection between four year degree institutions and ours.

And there were barriers there.

So we went about trying to attack those barriers and we're pretty excited that this almost eliminates every barrier that a student at HFC would see as they move to Wayne State University or other four year degree institutions.

- Why does it feel like it's taken so long for institutions to get to this point where you guys are, where you're trying to make this a streamlined process?

Is it the, the motivating factor of what the state needs what the, the economy and employers here need?

- I, I can't speak to why it hasn't happened before.

I can speak to how it has started to happen and it's become the focus that we have on students.

Historically, higher education has not been as focused on what helps the students.

And right now that is the future of higher education.

So we've spent a lot of time trying to understand the hurdles that students face that stops them from getting to that college credential that we need to have a higher percentage of our citizens having.

And one of 'em is the things you just mentioned.

Our students will work hard, work well in the classroom, work at home, taking care of family.

A lot of our students work really hard to get these 60 credits in their associate degree.

And then they face more hurdles to move to the four year degree, degree institutions.

And some of those hurdles were how many credits will I take with me?

I spent a lot of time and money on those credits.

Well, I have to ask for permission.

And what if they say no, because a lot of my students are first generation either Americans or college students like my dad was.

And it's a serious question, will they say no?

And no one wants to be told no.

So we went right at those two hurdles after hearing our students say these are the hurdles that we have moving from Henry Ford College to Wayne State University and with this agreement, if they get through Henry Ford College and show academic success, they don't have to worry about being told no when they ask for admission at Wayne State.

And if they collect 60 credits, they don't have to worry about whether those 60 credits travel with them.

And that is, that is really focusing on students.

And that is where we're gonna make up ground on this 60 by 30, getting 60% of a Michigander population to a post-secondary credential.

(cars passing by) - [Will] Do you think that that's going to be the case?

Because sometimes it, it, it seems like an obvious solution, but I'm sure there are other considerations that other higher institutions might have when it comes to maybe the quality of education from one institution to another, whether or not they're accepting students that might not be able to fit or make it or, or actually graduate.

Do you think that what you guys are doing is going to catch on?

- Let me just be blunt, I talk to students a lot, both at universities and community colleges, and there is historically an idea that community colleges were for a lesser student, and that couldn't be further from the truth.

That's my experience here that it's not the truth and the experience of my parents who are community college graduates.

Community college students have an opportunity to be just as good as anyone else but they're using the access portal that we have which has a low barrier for cost and a low barrier for geographic distance from your home.

And I know that because when I talked to President Wilson I said, look at the students that we bring you.

They perform as well or better than the students that started with you at the beginning of the university.

And President Wilson, like any other very sharp leader knew that to be true, checked it to be true.

But still, we said, we don't have any interest to send you students who are going to come to your institution having left Henry Ford College and then not be successful with you.

That won't.

And so, you tell us partner at Wayne State University and any other institution that we would gain this kind of agreement with you, tell us what we can do to show that these students are ready for your institution.

And Wayne State decided to say, we want you to grad bring us students with a 2.5 grade point average at Henry Ford College.

Now, it was helpful to show Wayne State the data that when we bring students, because we do 300 to 400 a year when those students come over to them with 2.5 or higher they are successful and in many instances more than the students who started at Wayne State University.

So that was a quick way for both partners to feel like it was going to be successful.

And that makes me believe, to answer your ultimate question, that this can catch on.

- Is there anything that you would like to share with people that would be particularly useful or how they might get in touch and get put into this pipeline and and how they can get a pathway forward for themselves?

- If you or anyone in your sphere is contemplating whether college is for them reach out to me.

I have publicly committed, anyone who contacts me via email will get a personal response.

It is statistically proven that if you invest in yourself in higher education, you'll be healthier, you'll be wealthier and you'll be happier.