FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT
Sarah Blodgett, Office of Senate President Karen E. Spilka
Sean Fitzgerald, Office of Senator Michael J. Rodrigues
Katelyn Billings, Office of Senator Jo M. Comerford
SENATE LEADERS PRAISE CRITICAL STEP TOWARDS UNIVERSAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE
New report states universal community college could be competitive advantage for Massachusetts,
charts course to delivery by fall 2024
(BOSTON—1/10/2024) In an important step towards making community college free for all residents in Massachusetts, Senate leaders received a briefing today on Planning and Delivery of Free Community College in Massachusetts, an interim report submitted to the Legislature that provides a menu of options for implementing universal free community college.
The report touts universal free community college as a potent driver for Massachusetts to become more competitive nationally: it has the potential to drive employment opportunity, economic mobility, and help the population become more educated; and the benefits have particular impact for people of color, those who have migrated to the state, and individuals from low income backgrounds.
“Our Commonwealth has extensive opportunities to grow and become even more competitive at the national level. But to do it, we need people to be able to fill the long list of job openings in critical fields—nurses, educators, life science experts, and more,” said Senate President Karen E. Spilka (D-Ashland). “This interim report lays out a plan for filling those jobs and making our state more competitive and equitable by removing a major financial barrier for our students, enabling them to complete a degree and stay in Massachusetts. I’m grateful to the Massachusetts Association of Community Colleges for their tremendous work on this and I look forward to continuing on the path to deliver universal free community college.”
“We were confident this report would clearly show the correlation between increased educational opportunities and increasing the skilled workforce development pipeline. So many economic drivers are predicated on an educated workforce, and it’s especially heartening to have this free tuition program benefit those from lower income and marginalized communities, who otherwise would not get a chance to pursue their dreams,” said Senator Michael Rodrigues, (D-Westport) Chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means.
“Massachusetts is leaping ahead to tackle college affordability and to expand access to public higher education. I am deeply grateful to Senate President Karen Spilka for her vision and her commitment to investing in one of our Commonwealth’s greatest equity engines,” said State Senator Jo Comerford (D-Northampton), Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Higher Education. “This important report offers us pathways forward to make community college free for all and to do so in a way that ensures student success, supports staff and faculty, is fiscally sustainable, maximizes the benefits to our Commonwealth, and offers Massachusetts residents a world-class education. Thank you to everyone who served on the Advisory Committee that produced this interim report.”
The report was conducted by the Massachusetts Association of Community Colleges (MACC) and comes following a Fiscal Year 2024 budget item that directed MACC to provide recommendations to the state for implementing free community college by fall of 2024.
The report presents three possible models for how Massachusetts can pursue free community college, and highlights issues important to the delivery of high-quality education, including wraparound services, faculty and staff salaries, aging facilities and equipment, and workforce considerations.
MassReconnect and free nursing at community colleges have been broadly cheered by educators and shown early signs of success. Community colleges in the Commonwealth saw an eight per cent single-year increase in enrollment, according to a recent report form the Department of Higher Education.
MACC is scheduled to deliver a final report to the Legislature by the end of April 2024, after which the Senate and the House will discuss next steps towards delivering free community college.
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