Hildreth Institute Provides Testimony to the Joint Committee on Ways and Means Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Hearing

Dear Representative Diggs, Senator Payano, Senator Michlewitz, Representative Rodriques, and Members of the Joint Committee on Ways and Means:

I am Dr. Bahar Akman Imboden, Managing Director of Hildreth Institute, a nonprofit research and policy center dedicated to advancing student-centered, evidence-based strategies for expanding access, success, and degree value in higher education. We commend the Legislature and the Governor for recent advancements that have expanded financial aid and boosted enrollment. However, increasing enrollment is only half the battle—ensuring students complete their degrees is just as critical. 

To this end, we offer the following priority funding recommendations:

1. Expanding Basic Needs Stipends
Many students continue to struggle with essential costs such as transportation, housing, and childcare, leaving them with $11,000 to $14,000 in unmet need, which contributes to low graduation rates. To address this gap, streamline benefits across programs, and simplify messaging, we propose increasing the stipend to $4,000 for all Pell-eligible students across all public higher education sectors. This would ensure that:

• Community college students currently receiving $2,400 receive $4,000.

• Students at State Universities and UMASS currently receiving $1,200 also receive $4,000.

Line Item Funding Increases:

• 1596-2501 (Free Community College): +$22M for stipends (on top of base funding of $94M), bringing total funding to $116M.

• 1596-2414 (MassGrant Plus): +$58M for stipends (on top of base funding of $80M), bringing total funding to $138M.

2. Boosting Completion by Scaling SUCCESS
While recent investments have made significant strides in improving access to higher education, ensuring that students complete their degrees remains a critical challenge. Wraparound services are essential for improving graduation rates, and expanding SUCCESS to incorporate best practices from the CUNY ASAP and ACE models can significantly enhance student support.

Line Item Funding Increases:

• 7100-4002 (SUCCESS for Community Colleges): $58M in new funding (plus $14.6M existing), for a total of $72.6M, to extend SUCCESS services to all Pell-eligible students taking at least six credits.

• 1596-2439 (SUCCESS for Four-Year Institutions): $52M in new funding (plus $14M existing), for a total of $64M, to provide similar support for Pell-eligible full-time students at State Universities and UMASS.

3. Strengthening MassGrant Plus for Moderate-Income Students
We recognize the budget constraints this session, especially given federal uncertainties and their potential impact on Massachusetts. If feasible, we urge consideration of an additional $25M investment in MassGrant Plus Expansion to streamline messaging and strengthen the tuition-free grant.

Currently, MassGrant Plus Expansion provides 50% of a last-dollar grant toward tuition and fees for non-Pell-eligible students with an SAI of $15,000 or less. To further ease unmet need and simplify the program, we propose expanding this coverage to a full last-dollar grant for all State University and UMASS students meeting this eligibility.

Line Item Funding Increase:

• 1596-2414 (MassGrant Plus Expansion): +$25M (in addition to the $58M mentioned in Section 1, for a total of $163M).

Conclusion: A Long-Term Commitment to Public Higher Education
To achieve these goals, we strongly support the Board of Higher Education’s recommendation that 25% to 33% of Fair Share funds be dedicated to public higher education in FY26 and beyond.

The surtax is projected to generate $2.4 billion in revenue, with $1.95 billion allocated in the FY26 budget. This creates a significant opportunity to strengthen success programs and maximize the impact of existing investments, while still leaving ample resources to support other critical initiatives, such as the Governor’s FY26 proposal to invest in public higher education capital improvements—an initiative we wholeheartedly support.

Dedicating 25%-33% of Fair Share funds to higher education is both feasible and necessary to ensure our progress continues and that expanded access translates into more students earning degrees.

We appreciate your leadership and look forward to continued collaboration in making these investments a reality.

Best regards,

Bahar Akman Imboden

Managing Director

Hildreth Institute

100 Belvidere Street #10E.

Boston, MA 02199