Central Michigan University awarded $650,000 accelerate grant to expand Central Bound community college partnerships

Central Michigan University has been awarded a $650,000 Accelerate Grant from the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential to expand Central Bound, a community college partnership model that uses dual-admission and co-enrollment to create clearer transfer pathways, support student success, and accelerate bachelor’s degree completion.

The grant will help fund new Central Bound partnerships with Muskegon Community College, North Central Michigan College, Kirtland Community College, Bay de Noc Community College, and Mid Michigan College. These institutions serve counties without a four-year university, where many post-traditional students are place-bound due to work, family, or financial constraints.

Central Bound aligns with CMU’s new Carnegie Classification as an Opportunity College, which recognizes CMU as a college that expands educational access while supporting outcomes that lead to strong career and earning potential. Through Central Bound, CMU and its community college partners are working proactively to do what is best for students by helping them start at a community college, stay on track through coordinated advising, and complete a CMU bachelor’s degree close to home with fewer barriers and less transfer friction.

Central Bound, recently launched a partnership with Lansing Community College, is now accepting applications. The new grant-funded expansion will allow CMU to extend the model across additional regions of Michigan. Central Bound allows students to enroll at CMU and their community college at the same time, providing flexibility in course planning while keeping students on track for degrees with both institutions. The model emphasizes coordinated advising, shared academic planning, and clearer transfer pathways, which help students maintain momentum and complete their bachelor’s degrees more efficiently.

“Too many students lose time or momentum while trying to balance coursework across institutions,” said Kaleb Patrick, vice president of CMU Online. “By expanding Central Bound, we are building a more student-centered experience that supports persistence, keeps credits moving, and helps learners across Michigan stay on track for degrees with both institutions.”

The Accelerate Grant is part of MiLEAP’s broader Student Success Grants portfolio, which supports evidence-based strategies that improve student persistence, clarify academic

pathways, and advance Michigan’s Sixty by 30 goal of increasing the number of working-age adults with a postsecondary credential.

Additional details about the expanded Central Bound partnerships will be shared as they are finalized.

For more information about Central Bound, visit online.cmich.edu/CentralBound.