March 5, 2009 - (Detroit, Mich.) In the spirit of President Obama's call-to-action in support of higher education, Wayne State University President Jay Noren announced a "financial aid stimulus" for qualified students. According to Noren, Wayne State will institute a one-time doubling of the financial aid it offers to qualified full-time freshmen, as well as sophomores, juniors and seniors with a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or above.

The financial aid stimulus plan is being funded through a reallocation of resources to address this immediate and pressing need. Beginning with the fall 2009 semester, the new program will be offered to almost 8,000 students. Specifically, it will:

• Increase need-based financial aid for all qualified students by at least 50 percent;

• Cover a full year of tuition for freshmen who require financial assistance;

• Double the amount of need-based grants over a four-year period for all undergraduates who maintain a 3.0 grade point average or above;

• Increase our merit-based Wayne State Scholars award by one-third, or $2,000/year.

• Enable more than 4,000 students to pay their entire four-year tuition bill.

"Ensuring access to higher education is a primary element of Wayne State's mission as an urban research university," said Wayne State President Jay Noren. "Through this financial aid stimulus, we are helping to guarantee that access in extraordinarily challenging economic times. We hope the return on this investment in our students will pay off in future prosperity for them and for the state of Michigan."

Wayne State University is a premier institution of higher education offering more than 350 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to more than 31,000 students.