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At UM-Dearborn, 50% of students are Pell-eligible. The university has the second lowest tuition among the state's 15 public universities and ranks No. 4 for student earnings after graduation.

As a result of numbers like these, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the American Council on Education recently through their new Student Access and Earnings Classification. UM-Dearborn is one of four public Michigan universities on this list, along with Central Michigan University, Ferris State University and UM-Flint.

The Student Access and Earnings Classification is based on data from universities across the U.S. indicating the degree of access for students from lower socioeconomic and historically underrepresented racial/ethnic backgrounds, as well as the wages of Pell-eligible students eight years after enrolling. Here's the .

Annesha Hardy, a Fall 2024 alum who majored in marketing, said she’s not surprised to hear this news — it reflects her story. Hardy, a Pell-eligible student who grew up in Detroit’s Warrendale neighborhood, landed a technical business developer role at Amazon Web Services in Seattle immediately after graduation. “Growing up, you hear the phrase ‘dream big’ — but that’s hard to do when you live in an environment that’s disadvantaged and you don’t know what’s possible for you,” Hardy said. “The people at UM-Dearborn are focused on helping you learn how to do that — and then work to reach what that means to you.”

Hardy — who noted that Amazon was impressed by the AI knowledge she gained through her College of Business curriculum — said that, from the beginning of her educational journey until her graduation, people were there to help. She had mentors from student organizations, like Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. Hardy received career coaching and sought internships through Career Services. And, right before graduation when Hardy struggled with financial hardship, UM-Dearborn staff members connected her to a scholarship opportunity. “I was working almost full time and going to school full time, but it wasn’t enough. I was running out of resources. When I shared with Dean of Students Amy Finley that I was worried, she told me about the Edward J. Bagale Difference Makers Scholarship — it couldn’t have come at a better time,” said Hardy, who was a .

When it comes to the accessibility part of the Opportunity University designation, Vice Provost for Enrollment Management Melissa Stone said UM-Dearborn’s accessibility and affordability mission is affirmed through the data that the Carnegie Foundation reviewed.

To increase access, the university reworked its financial aid program in 2021 to open doors for more students. The UM-Dearborn Go Blue Guarantee Program, which offers free or reduced tuition to high achieving students from low-income situations, started in 2021. And, in 2025, GBG expanded the scholarship to students whose families make up to $125,000 a year.

“There is immense value in education. There’s the critical thinking skills you gain that will be beneficial to you throughout your life. Education opens doors for career and increased earning opportunities,” Stone said. Among people ages 22 to 27,  in the U.S. is $60,000 for someone with a bachelor’s degree, compared to $36,000 for someone with a high school diploma.

“Looking at lifetime earning numbers, data shows the impact of a college degree can change the trajectory of someone’s life and the lives of people around them. And this extends to their community, region and our state,” Stone adds. And a vast majority of UM-Dearborn students stay in Michigan: 95% of students who accepted employment in 2023-24 remained in the state.

Alum Fatmah Saleh, a Pell-eligible student who graduated in spring 2025, grew up, went to school and continues to live in Dearborn. Prior to commencement, she accepted a full-time international accounting analyst position at Stellantis. “My degree has helped me build a life where I have a job at a company I care about while living in a community I love. And I’m able to work hybrid, so I have the opportunity to be home with my mom, too,” she said. Saleh, an accounting major, has worked full time since her high school graduation to help support her mom, who has a long-term illness. Saleh is her mom’s caregiver. Her father passed away when she was six.

While the cost of attending UM-Dearborn is among the lowest within Michigan’s public universities, UM-Dearborn grads’ annual earnings are very competitive. According to , UM-Dearborn Pell grant recipients go on to earn a median income of $57,847, while median earnings in the region are $37,232. 

When including both Pell-eligible and non-Pell-eligible students at UM-Dearborn, the average salary earned is just above $62,000, said Career Services Director Laurel Draudt. The Career Services team surveys graduating undergraduate students six months postgraduation for the annual National Association of Colleges and Employers First Destination self-reporting survey.

Both Saleh and Hardy are pleased with the jobs they landed after earning their degrees and the earnings that come with those. They credit UM-Dearborn’s career support offerings — as well as their own tenacity and drive — as instrumental in their achievements. Both had internships that they found after attending career fairs: Hardy at ADP and Amazon, Saleh at Yakuzi and Stellantis.

Draudt says internships are key because employers use them to find top talent, as was the case for Hardy and Saleh. She says UM-Dearborn makes an effort to get the message out to all students to get involved in internship fairs, mentoring programs and resume workshops starting the first year. “The sooner you get involved, the more competitive you will be,” she said. Draudt said Career Services has had 931 interactions with Pell-eligible students since they began recording student interactions in Fall 2022. 

The success of the Pell-eligible students they have worked with is reflected in student testimony and the data gathered in the  designation. But Draudt wants to do more: “We need to continue getting the word out to our students, many of whom are first in their families to go to college. It’s especially important to reach them because they may not have someone at home to let them know that these opportunities are right here,” she said. Career Services holds internship and job fairs twice a year, and offers job outlook resources that include average salary numbers, networking events, virtual interview coaching and more.

Hardy said UM-Dearborn offers a supportive community that helped build her skill set, resume and confidence. She’s now eyeing graduate school to understand the more technical side of her field.“I’m dreaming big. I wouldn’t be where I am today without my time at UM-Dearborn,” she said. “Getting into UM-Dearborn got me into the rooms — classrooms, interview rooms, board rooms — that changed my life.”

Article by Sarah Tuxbury