Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan has announced two years of tuition free college education for Detroit high school graduates.

A portion of the city’s property taxes will be used to fund the Detroit scholarship Fund. It was created in 2013 by the Detroit Regional Chamber and the Michigan Education Excellence Foundation (MEEF). It has helped over two thousand Detroit high school graduates attend community college, tuition free.

Detroit resident students graduating as from the spring of 2016 can enroll for a tuition free technical certificate or an associate degree in any of the five participating community colleges. The scholarship covers college tuition and other costs not covered by grants for up to three years. The participating institutions are Wayne, Henry Ford, Oakland or Macomb community colleges or Schoolcraft College. Eligible high school graduates have up to one year after graduation to apply for the program.

Similar programs have been implemented in Chicago, Tennessee and Oregon.

The program is also an initiative to help repopulate the schools and neighborhoods in Detroit. Homes for sell come with an advertisement stating the home comes with 2 years of free college which is a good selling point for some. There are grade requirements to qualify for the tuition free program so it is vital that students do their part to ensure they can take advantage of this opportunity.