Michigan University Impacted By Nationwide Funding Cuts

Over the last couple of weeks, many businesses and institutions that use federal funding have been concerned about the executive orders that President Donald Trump signed on his first day in office. One of those orders was followed by the action to pause all federal funding until they are able to sort out the cashflow.

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This decision left many people in panic as their businesses were reliant on federal funds and they weren't sure how they were going to operate without it. Some of those places have closed as they are still having trouble accessing funds but now the funding cuts have started to affect the schools and education.

Western Michigan University has come out as one of the first institutions to say that they are having some struggles now that they aren't receiving as much funding as before. This will affect students who are both from Michigan and out of the state as there are now two programs in danger.

The first program is the Urban Teacher Residency Program which had a $5 million grant attached to it. The purpose of the program was to curb the low teacher numbers in Southwest Michigan school districts like Benton Harbor, Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, and others. The paraprofessionals and long-term substitutes could earn graduate certification for participating and completing the program.

This program has about $1 million left from the first grant and they are unsure of the future if there won't be funding available. Teacher residency programs are important as they create affordable pathways for perspective teachers and help school districts with tough to fill staff subject areas, including STEM, special education, and multilingual programs, and underserved communities, including rural and urban areas.

There's another program that's in danger of being shut down due to the federal funding cuts. The High-Impact Leadership for School Projects is a program that helps school districts around the state find engaging ways to improve literacy levels in elementary and middle schools.

There was a $15 million grant associated with the High-Impact Leadership for School Projects program and there were still two years left. There grants were through the IES, and the money was to be allocated and focused on solutions supported by evidence.

Western Michigan University does intend to appeal to maintain the programs but if their appeal is unsuccessful than they will begin to look into how these federal decisions will affect the program and its initiatives.