Step One
You must meet with your MI Works caseworker to determine if you are qualified to apply. Please visit for approved programs MyCareerEducation.org. Site instructions are as follows:

• Click on Career Advisor link
• Click on Search by School link
• Click on the letter “F”
• Scroll down to Ferris State University and find the specific campus you will attend. For example, you would click on Ferris State University – Grand Rapids for the Grand Rapids campus.
• Click continue at the bottom
• Scroll down to review program, click program and print out information for your MI Works Caseworker.

If you do not see the program you desire, you must work with your MI Works Caseworker to request that the program be added through Ferris Institutional Research Office. The caseworker can begin that process of requesting a program, by sending an email to carterr4@ferris.edu.

Step Two
Download the “Request for MI Works Cost Estimate form” and provide prior to advisor appointment. Download the form here.

Step Three
Meet with your advisor to complete a program plan that includes an estimate of total credits including Ferris credits and community college credits.

Your advisor then completes a semester program layout with estimated classes for your MI Works caseworker and gives this layout to the financial aid officer or billing officer to calculate overall program costs.

Step Four
Send completed semester program layout to Financial Aid Officer Lindsay Young for Grand Rapids & Lansing campuses. Send to Billing Officer Nicole Merritt for other sites and main campus.

You must take cost estimate and program layout to your MI Works caseworker.

The financial aid officer/billing officer will complete cost estimate and email both the advisor and you with the completed document.

You can monitor updates through your MyFSU by clicking on your financial aid award and progress messages will come up. At each stage of the cost estimate you will see:

• Cost estimate received.
• Cost estimated completed.

Step Five
Return to your MI Works Caseworker to complete program approval process. Once approved they will:

• Providing billing paperwork to be completed by Financial Aid Officer.
• Request billing to connect with MI Works to complete billing authorization.

Step Six
The financial aid officer/billing officer will complete all billing paper in regards to tuition and then send completed paperwork to your MI Works Caseworker and to billing. The billing officer will work directly with MI Works to complete separate billing for books.

Be advised that complete payment from MI Works could take up to 30-60 days to be received and show on your MyFSU pages. You should monitor progress in MyFSU under the Academic Services tab in the financial aid award area to see active messages from billing.

Step Seven
Register for classes while you are waiting for authorization to complete.

Step Eight
Once authorization is completed, you can charge your books to your student account through the Ferris Bookstore the week before classes begin. MI Works will pay for books through a third party payment.