Latest news with #MASSGrantPlus
Boston Globe
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Lean budget threatens to spark public college turf war
Get The Gavel A weekly SCOTUS explainer newsletter by columnist Kimberly Atkins Stohr. Enter Email Sign Up At this May's meeting, after a presentation about an upcoming advertising campaign for state financial aid programs, Pedraja expressed concern that helping low-income students attend four-year schools would take money away from free community college. Advertisement 'We are very concerned that shouting from the treetops that our public four-year institutions are free for certain students based on income will further deplete very limited financial aid for the whole system,' Pedraja said. Advertisement Pedraja said that financial aid money is expected to be tight next year, and free community college is codified in statute, while the MASSGrant Plus expansion is not. 'Not to take away from the importance of marketing toward these students and making education available for all, which I do believe, we ought to be cautious about over-promising to students who are most in need of support,' Pedraja said. In a follow-up interview, Pedraja doubled down on his concern that the state is 'over-promising' by advertising free four-year college for low-income students. He again emphasized the distinction between free community college, which is codified in law, and other financial aid, which comes from a pot of money that can run out. Practically, however, this is a distinction without a difference — at least legally, if not politically. Pedraja is correct that free community college is codified in the Department of Higher Education spokesperson Nicole Giambusso confirmed that free community college and the MASSGrant Plus expansion are both subject to annual appropriations. The House and Senate budget proposals for fiscal 2026 both include money for all these programs, although the Senate's funding level is somewhat higher. State Senator Jo Comerford, Senate chair of the Joint Committee on Higher Education, said lawmakers see these programs as coming from different pockets of money. 'One does not cannibalize each other,' Comerford told me. Advertisement When free community college was established, expanding aid for all low-income students was seen as key to ensuring that students who are qualified to attend a four-year university won't be channeled into community college just because it's free. After all, according to There are potential funding sources — like money collected from the surtax on income over $1 million — that could be tapped to keep both programs running. 'I don't think it should be either/or,' Bridgewater State University President Frederick Clark told me. 'I don't think the segments should be working at cross purposes. We should be leaning in to make sure funding is adequate for financial aid for all students.' It is true that in a tight budget year, lawmakers have to make choices. Policy makers should be honest in crafting their budget around what can realistically be funded. In our interview, Pedraja said he 'would love for everybody to have more access to higher education.' But the troubling implication of his statement is that if there is a Sophie's choice to be made, Massachusetts should prioritize aid for community college students, regardless of income, over low-income students at four-year schools. If the state wants to help the most students achieve their academic potential, that is the wrong approach. Instead, the guiding principle should be helping each student attend the college that's right for them. Advertisement As these financial aid programs continue, state policy makers should collect data to determine their impact. Which aid programs are boosting college enrollment and also college completion rates and postgraduation employment? Are other ways of improving college success working, like If hard choices have to be made about funding, they should be based on which programs most help students succeed. Shira Schoenberg can be reached at
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Senate Dems plan another big bump in financial aid
BOSTON (SHNS) – The Senate Ways and Means Committee wants to keep its foot on the gas of ballooning financial aid with a 25% increase to the MASSGrant Plus program, according to someone with knowledge of the committee's plans for next year's state budget. The MASSGrant Plus program, which is meant to cover unmet costs of tuition and mandatory fees for low-income community college students attending public higher education institutions, was expanded to an $80 million investment last year. The committee's fiscal year 2026 budget, set to be unveiled Tuesday, will recommend increasing that investment to $100 million. The goal is to make public higher education close to completely free for more lower income students, including those who also qualify for federal Pell grants. The financial aid investment has grown rapidly in recent years. When it was launched under former Gov. Charlie Baker in 2018, the program had just $7.5 million to distribute to students in need. Under the $80 million invested in fiscal 2025, MASSGrant Plus covers the full cost of tuition and fees and an allowance of up to $1,200 for books and supplies for full- or part-time students at public four-year colleges and universities from families earning up to about $85,000 per year. For families earning up to $100,000, the program covers about half of the out-of-pocket costs for tuition and fees for full-time students at the state's community colleges and 15 state universities. Additionally, the University of Massachusetts announced last fall that through the expansion of MASSGrant Plus, any in-state student coming from a family who earns under $75,000 will be able to attend a UMass school for free by next school year. The current state budget included a number of other higher education financial aid investments as well, including making community college free for every Massachusetts resident and an additional $175.2 million for other scholarships awarded through the General Fund. The Board of Higher Education approved budget recommendations in December for fiscal 2026 which included, 'expanding the Massachusetts financial aid programs to make all public colleges and universities debt-free or nearly debt-free for almost all without an existing college degree.' Gov. Maura Healey and the House proposed level-funding the program after years of rapid growth, keeping it steady at $80 million. The most recent big increases in financial aid have been mostly funded through a pot of revenues collected from a 4% income surtax on the state's highest earners. That surtax was approved by voters in 2022, and may only be spent on education or transportation initiatives. The committee plans to release its full annual budget bill Tuesday in advance of floor debate on it during the week before Memorial Day. WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
