Enacted in 1998, GEAR UP was signed into law as part of the Higher Education Amendments of 1998. The mission of GEAR UP is to significantly increase the number of low-income students who are prepared to enter and succeed in post-secondary education.
The GEARUP/College Day Program’s mission is to provide an opportunity for underrepresented students to discover first hand, the potential of a college education and to expose students to the information, knowledge and skills they need to complete high school and prepare themselves adequately for college entry and success.
The GEARUP/College Day Program partners with Michigan’s 15 Public Higher Education Institutions, Michigan Department of Treasury, Partnership for Learning, United States Department of Education and the Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Growth to target and provide services to 38 Public Secondary School districts and 92 school buildings throughout Michigan. The goal is to improve the entry into post secondary education of students from the targeted areas.
GEAR UP Benefits Michigan's Students Our Future Workforce
In the 2009-10 academic year the GEAR UP/College Day Program served 10, 144 students in 37 targeted school districts and 57 individual high schools throughout the state. The GU/CD Program serves entire classrooms of students and has been growing up with the cohort of seventh and eighth grade students who began with the program in 2006. These students will be 11th and 12th graders during the 2010-11 academic year.
