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All incoming first-year students at the University of Michigan-Dearborn are eligible to receive reimbursement for 2023 football season student tickets if they are registered for at least 12 credit hours at U-M Dearborn. Though no reimbursements have been given out so far, students can anticipate them in the fall.
In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Kristin Palm, Assistant Director of Communication for U-M Dearborn, said the administration decided to provide reimbursement for football tickets to improve U-M Dearborn students’s engagement with the U-M community.
“One of our top priorities in our current strategic plan is to enhance the first-year student experience at U of M Dearborn,” Palm said. “And we have a lot of wonderful traditions on our own campus for new students to take part in, but now they’ll have greater access to what we all know is a very cherished tradition down the road in Ann Arbor.”
Palm said the administration hopes this change will help first-year students build a better community within the University as a whole.
“The real goal here is to help our students feel really connected to our campus and to the University of Michigan community from the minute they step foot on campus,” Palm said.
Nimah Azam, U-M Dearborn sophomore, told The Daily she is upset the reimbursement is only for incoming freshmen because she believes all students would love to have the ability to receive reimbursement for tickets.
“Honestly that’s a little disappointing because that’s passed me being a freshman but I think it’s pretty cool,” Azam said. “I think it’s a nice way to get freshmen involved with their school.”
Eejoy Lim, U-M Dearborn sophomore and Student Activities Board president, told The Daily she did not have the opportunity to watch the football games in Ann Arbor when she was a freshman because of high ticket prices. Lim said she believes the reimbursement will encourage students to engage with a major University tradition.
“It’s a really good way to get students engaged on campus,” Lim said. “Football at U of M is pretty big and (students) want to feel the spirit of (the) school.”
By helping students feel more connected to the campus community, Palm said the administration is also improving student retention, which directly benefits the school.
“The goal is just feeling more invested and more a part of the Wolverine community, which you know, has all kinds of benefits in the long run,” Palm said. “We know that being a part of a strong and connected campus community is vital to student retention and success.”
Azam said she believes ticket reimbursement gives U-M Dearborn students the opportunity to have what she considered a “typical” college experience while on a commuter campus.
“As U-M Dearborn students, we don’t really get much of a typical college life like MSU or like U-M Ann Arbor because we are a commuter campus,” Azam said.
Palm said she believes reimbursement for tickets will help remove financial barriers and get more students involved at the University outside of the classroom.
“I’m just personally excited that we can make (going to football games) more accessible to all of our students,” Palm said. “Fourty-four percent of our students are Pell-eligible, (so) anything that we can be doing to help our students feel more connected and make opportunities, both in the classroom and outside of the classroom, accessible to them is a move toward students’ success and diversity, equity and inclusion.”
Azam said though she believes reimbursing students is great, there are still steps the University could consider to increase equity.
“Reimbursing students is a huge thing already but getting students to Ann Arbor would be cool also,” Azam said. “There (are) a lot of international students that live on campus, and I’m not sure they have transportation.”
In the press release obtained by The Daily from U-M Dearborn, Chancellor Domenico Grasso also said the reimbursement for tickets will help students participate in a major element of U-M student life.
“We are committed to providing a robust Michigan experience to our students, who already receive a first-rate education and will leave our Dearborn campus with one of the most valuable assets a graduate can possess: a Michigan degree,” Grasso said. “This new initiative makes it even easier for our students to participate in one of the most cherished of University of Michigan traditions: fall in the Big House.”
Eligible students who purchase tickets will be automatically reimbursed in mid-September, according to U-M Dearborn’s website.
Daily Staff Reporter Rebecca Lewis can be reached at rebeccl@umich.edu.