The Hildreth Institute is a research and policy center dedicated to restoring the promise of higher education as an engine of upward mobility for all.
Read our latest research on creating equity in Higher Education.

Massachusetts’ Disinvestment in Higher Education A Closer Look at State Aid, Tuition Rates, and Student Debt
Click to download this issue paper Executive Summary: Massachusetts has experienced deep cuts in higher education funding in the last two decades. This has resulted in significant tuition increases...
Higher Ed Policy Updates
Massachusetts Updates: Student Loan Bill of Rights Hearing It has been exciting to see that several states have been working hard and moving their Student Loan Bill of Rights forward; this month,...
State and National Higher Ed Policy Updates — June 2019
Massachusetts Updates: Student Loan Bill of Rights Hearing It has been exciting to see that several states have been working hard and moving their Student Loan Bill of Rights forward; this month,...
Why We Need #ZeroDebt College
Naia M.
“The following year tuition was raised significantly and I couldn’t go back to that school. So I dropped out and went back home to community college with a 20k loan that only was getting bigger.”
Damian B
“I don’t believe the government should be allowing young adults whose brains are still developing to put themselves in a crazy amount of debt just because it is the “norm” in society.”
Kneeco H
“Being Afro-Latinx has had its oppressive obstacles long before I was born, but it says something when I have to work my ass off to get TO college and work my ass off to get THROUGH college…”
Tt K
“I was always promised that college would open doors for me, but sometimes it feels like the tolls are too high to even enter.”
Rafael S.
“Financial aid is an ongoing concern while attending school and stressful experience for low-income students who feel like they have to manage the costs of their future at such a young age without proper guidance.”