Hildreth Institute in MASSterList

Advocates call for more funding for support services to help community college students graduate

This article originally appeared in MASSterLIST of the State House News Service.

Free community college has been one of the Healey administration's most ambitious initiatives, but what if there aren't enough support services to help the growing number of students earn their associate's degree? That's the concern of higher education advocates who say level-funded higher education programs in Gov. Maura Healey’s fiscal year 2026 budget proposal will further stress resources and leave student needs unmet. Advocates are particularly concerned about the future of the SUCCESS program, which provides wraparound support for community colleges’ most vulnerable students. 

Massachusetts Association of Community Colleges Executive Director, Nate Mackinnon, said SUCCESS significantly increases completion rates, but the program has already been stretched “well past its capacity.” 

Healey’s proposal includes $14 million for SUCCESS, $24 million for MassReconnect and $80 million for financial aid expansion. MassEducate would see the only slight increase from its FY25 allocation, from $93.5 to $94 million. 

“We need to make sure we’re not jeopardizing the quality of education we’re providing,” Mackinnon said. “Free community college is our access strategy, and SUCCESS is our completion strategy — the two have to be connected.” Not adequately funding both, he said, could call into question whether the state should push free community college at all. 

Higher ed research group Hildreth Institute’s Managing Director, Bahar Akman Imboden, added that flat funding for programs like MASSGrant Plus wouldn’t guarantee that the increasing number of in-need students have access to financial aid. The reality for those students “doesn’t match the marketing that’s being promoted that college is free and affordable,” she said. 

Increasing funding for those programs presents an opportunity to keep historic higher education investments rolling, Jennie Williamson, CEO of EdTrust Massachusetts, said. Especially at a time when the value of higher ed is being questioned, Williamson said Massachusetts should further invest in support programs ensuring degree value, “so people feel that the time they’re putting into the programs is a worthwhile investment.” 

Asked about reasons behind the budget’s level funding, Department of Higher Education Spokesperson Nicole Giambusso told MASSterList that DHE “is proud the administration has prioritized maintaining the significant recent increases in state financial aid.”

Education policy has been championed by the Senate in recent years, but Senate President Karen Spilka hasn't publicly commented on Healey's proposals. Spilka said in January she’d “continue to support MassEducate as well as the wraparound services our SUCCESS programs provide.” — Ella Adams