Our Voices
Why I’m giving $50 to every new child born in Massachusetts
College savings plans deliver lots of dividends Originally published in Commonwealth Magazine OVER THE LAST DECADE, I’ve created three non-profit organizations with the shared mission of getting low-income students to college without taking on crushing debt....
Statement on Federal Court Victory for Student Loan Protections
Zero-Debt Advocates Applaud AG Maura Healey For Her Leadership Fighting for Students Defrauded by For-Profit Colleges BOSTON — Bob Hildreth, President of the Hildreth Institute, today issued the following statement regarding a new federal court decision that...
In the Field — Sept. 2018
Higher Ed 2020 Summit at Century Foundation Hello Everyone! My name is Beata Coloyan, the Policy and Advocacy Director at the Institute. I wanted to share what I heard and learned at the Higher Ed 2020 Summit hosted by The Century Foundation in D.C. on...
Campus Update-September-2018
What. A. Month. Classes have begun and we are in full swing with our campus teams. Two leaders, Samantha Higgins from Suffolk and Sam Szemerenyi from BC, joined our team to lead the #ZeroDebt efforts on their respective campuses. Here is an introduction to each...
State and National Higher Ed Policy Updates — September 2018
Massachusetts Updates: Taxing Wealthy Massachusetts Colleges to Generate Much Needed Revenue for Higher Education: source: https://www.prweb.com/releases/2018/03/prweb15307654.htm Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jay Gonzalez proposes to levy a 1.6 percent tax...
Statement on Proposed Endowment Tax
The idea of the Endowment Tax proposed by Jay Gonzalez, candidate for Governor, claims a right to make private institutions support public institutions. Some historical background could prove useful. The tax would actually be a reversal from when public money went to...
Colleges Should Pick Students Over Stone
By Bob Hildreth This article was first published by Banker and Tradesman on Sep 9, 2018 Any top university will tell you that the easiest way to raise money is by naming buildings after big donors. But in today’s world of suffocating student debt, what we really need...
A Weight on Our Shoulders
By Sam Szemerenyi I’m an economics major. I work with numbers and trends every day, and the college debt crisis will not have a happy ending for many. Tuition is rising at a much faster rate than inflation and financial aid grants are. The cost of a degree is...
Hey, college presidents, speak up! University heads protect their coffers by avoiding big issues
This article was published first by the Commonwealth Magazine on September 1st 2018. COLLEGE PRESIDENTS HAVE long used the bully pulpit that comes with their office to shape public opinion. That is, until now. Today, college leaders remain silent, having turned...
In the Field-August 2018
By Matt Frentz On the first of this month we got to share our #ZeroDebt message with a fantastic group of young people from the Forest Foundation, all of whom dedicated their summers working for Boston-based nonprofits. Not only did Bob get a chance to engage these...