University of Michigan's president Dr. Mark Schlissel announced that the university plans to offer free tuition for Michigan students for up to four years with family income of less than $65,0000 per year.

Schlissel made the announcement at the beginning of the University Board of Regents meeting on Thursday, June 15, 2017. The Board approved the new program as part of the fiscal year 2018 general fund budget for the Ann Arbor campus.

The new program will launch January 1, 2018. The $65,000 amount also includes certain asset limits. $65,000 is roughly equivalent to Michigan's 2015 median family income of $63,893. Students who qualify for the program may also be eligible for additional aid to cover non-tuition costs.

The university's public affairs office says the program will be called the "Go Blue Guarantee." They say it will cut through the complexities of financial aid to help the university reach talented and high achieving students from communities all over Michigan. A goal of the Go Blue Guarantee would be for all qualified students to feel that going to the University of Michigan is within their financial reach.

Paul N. Courant, the university's chief academic and budget officer, says the new program is based in part on the success of the university's HAIL (High Achieving Involved Leader) scholarship. The HAIL effort simplified the application process for high-achieving, low income students and increased the number of those students who enrolled at U of M.

The Board of Regents also approved a tuition increase by 2.9% for in-state undergraduate students, and an increase of 4.5% for out-of-state undergraduate students, and tuition for most graduate programs will increase by 4.1%.

Get more information on the program by clicking the link to the announcement with this story.