Celebrating Progress in Public Higher Education Funding
We are thrilled to recognize the historic and concrete steps taken by the Massachusetts Legislature and Administration to address decades of chronic underfunding of public higher education. These efforts began in 2023 and are growing bolder and more ambitious each year. While we eagerly await the final details of the FY25 budget, we are excited about the significant investment in state financial aid and support services for students, over $387 million.
What's even more exciting is the clear signals from the legislature that Free Community College, MassEducate, is just the beginning.
In a recent podcast with CommonWealth Beacon, Sen. Comerford stated:
“We recognize …and all of our constituents recognize that it's not just that [referring to direct expenses such as tuition and fees]... it's housing, it's food, it's transportation, it's childcare, it's the unforeseen expenses that students face.... I believe the Senate President would say the same thing, we're not done with our commitment to public higher education, because we know we have to go further if we want true equity and true opportunity."
Our research and analyses have pointed to the importance of the scaffolding that comes with increased grant money, which attracts more students to attend college. This includes more financial aid for lower-income students, essential student wrap-around support services, more investment to recruit and retain quality faculty and staff, and a constant effort to streamline and simplify the system. We are very thankful that, along with MassEducate and the $80 million MassGrant Plus Expansion program—which provides low-income students at public four-year institutions with a tuition and fee grant plus $1,200 for books and supplies—the state budget includes several measures to start tackling these issues, such as:
The Free Community College Persistence Fund: With an initial $2.5 million, this fund aims to cover unanticipated costs for students at community colleges and state universities, addressing transportation, food security, short-term housing, and childcare needs. It will be critical to closely analyze whether this innovative program is helping students persist and complete their education.
Hunger-Free Campus Initiative: Allocating $500,000 to provide grants to colleges for essential services like food pantries and assistance with accessing federal and state nutrition programs, ensuring no student goes hungry.
Success Program Expansion: Building on the community college success program, which supports first-generation, immigrant, and low-income students through peer mentorship, tutoring, and academic wraparound services, and extending these services to four-year institutions.
Higher Education Quality and Affordability Commission: This forward-looking initiative indicates the state’s commitment to not stop here. The commission will focus on improving the quality and affordability of higher education, expanding scholarship programs to address the full cost of attendance, reducing student debt, and addressing the recruitment of faculty and staff.
As an institute dedicated to advancing policy solutions informed by data and evidence, we have much work ahead to analyze these programs and ensure they deliver on their promises. We aim to support their expansion and improvement through data-driven evaluations that address pertinent questions and concerns. We look forward to collaborating with decision-makers and stakeholders to achieve these goals.