Jeremy Siegel: This is GBH’s Morning Edition. A proposal to make community college tuition free for all Massachusetts residents now sits on Governor Maura Healey’s desk. The measure aims to build on the success of an existing program, making community college free for some people in the state who don’t have a degree and are over the age of 25. State Senator Jo Comerford is at the center of this push in the statehouse and joins me now for more. Good morning, State Senator.
State Sen. Jo Comerford: Hi. Good morning. Thank you so much for having me.
Siegel: So free community college for everyone in Massachusetts. No restrictions. Why now?
Comerford: Well, you know, coming out of the COVID pandemic, the Senate president said to the Senate, how are we going to build back more equitably with more opportunity? And one of the things the Senate believes in deeply is education, public education. And so you’ve seen the Senate president lead us to historic investments in early ed. And she wanted to really put her shoulder to public higher ed and the higher ed system overall. That’s two years and four years because that is, I believe and I believe the Senate president believes, the greatest equity engine and also a workforce engine, an engine of opportunity for the Commonwealth. So as we emerge from COVID and as we build back better and stronger and more equitable, we need that 21st century workforce to be ready to take on the new challenges. And we need them to be equitably ready, meaning everyone should have access to that opportunity. And that’s what public higher education offers.
Siegel: College, even community college, is expensive, several thousand dollars a year. Your proposal would cover this free tuition with a new tax on earnings of $1 million in the state. Even still, would this be financially sustainable for Massachusetts, allowing everyone in the state to get free community college?
Comerford: We believe it is in the Senate, and the Chair of Ways and Means in the Senate President have spoken in unison on this. We’ve looked at the numbers, we’ve looked at the projections for fair share funding, and boy, I think this is a perfect use of fair share. It’s, you know, public money for a public good, like higher education. And so we believe it is sustainable. And we wanted to do it right and step off in this, you know, free community college journey in the right way. But, you know, while this is a $2 billion investment overall, $256 million of it for financial aid, which I think is historic for this state. You know, there’s lots of other policy pieces that signal the Senate has not finished in this work. There are two commissions, one to look at capital needs, one to look at affordability overall because we are concerned, like our constituents are concerned, with debt that is crushing the rising generation. And we’re making the pathway between two-year and four-year institutions brighter, easier to navigate. And for this, we are really grateful to the Department of Higher Education for both its willingness to to lead this work and being such a great thought partner about how to get this done.
Siegel: There are critics who say a program like this could divert students from seeking four-year degrees, or that this funding itself should just be going elsewhere in Massachusetts. What do you say to them?
Comerford: Well, I’m going to start with the four-year degrees, because I was part of the commission that looked at free community college, and I know the Senate president, the Senate, my colleagues and I look at our four year ecosystem here in Massachusetts. And that’s why we did a few things that are specifically notable in this budget. One, I spoke about the transfer piece. The other is that in Mass Grant and Mass Grant Plus line items which are available aid for four year students seeking four-year degrees. We’ve upped those numbers considerably. And we also are instituting this program called SUCCESS, which is aptly named, it’s wildly successful, and it has been at community colleges for students who are most at risk of not completing, not persisting. We’re putting that in the four-years. So I believe what the Senate is saying here in our own interests in this investment is we don’t want to tell a student where they want to go. We want to open up every door we can and then support that student on their journey. And you know, again, with these two commissions, especially the affordability and the four year ecosystem commission, we’re signaling we’re not finished. And we know there’s more to do, but we couldn’t wait to inject a meaningful amount of money for the students who just haven’t had the ability to dream about college. And I want to hear if I can tip my hat to Governor Healey. Mass. Reconnect was something I was proud to support in her first budget. And we’ve seen really significant gains as a result of that. And that’s for community college for students 25 and older. And in the community colleges that have been in decline for 10 years, we’re seeing them up 8% overall. Some are up much more than that in their own enrollment. And these are students, you know, who wouldn’t have gone back to school. So we’re catching a cohort of students that couldn’t have dreamed about public higher education, but now can and that’s what I’m very that’s what I’m most proud of in this budget as well.
Siegel: This proposal does go further than the program that you were talking about that Governor Healey instituted. This one would make Massachusetts the first state to offer universal free access to community colleges. Are you confident that Governor Healey will approve this? Will sign this into law?
Comerford: Well, I can’t speak for our good governor. I’m hoping she will. She has been a great thought partner, and her administration has been a great thought partner throughout this and especially, Commissioner Ortega of the Department of Higher Ed and his team who participated in the working group. We’ve seen this coming for now, a long time in the from the Senate as an initiative. So I would hope that the governor would see this as an opportunity, especially with what we’ve been talking about, especially with the embrace of a four-year ecosystem and the expression through these working groups, which are going to be very productive, you know, going forward. We understand that there’s more to do expect, especially with that expression. I’m hoping that she’s willing to accept this and drive it forward with us.
Siegel: State Senator Jo Comerford, thanks so much for your time.
Comerford: Thank you. It’s been a pleasure.
Siegel: You're listening to GBH's Morning Edition.
A proposal to make community college tuition- and fee-free for all Massachusetts residents now sits on Governor Maura Healey’s desk.
The measure aims to build on the success of an existing program, making community college free for some people in the state who don’t have a degree and are over the age of 25.
State senate leaders decided to take it up as pandemic restrictions were easing, bolstered by funding from 2022’s Fair Share amendment, also known as the millionaires’ tax.
“Coming out of the COVID pandemic, the Senate president said to the Senate, how are we going to build back more equitably with more opportunity? And one of the things the Senate believes in deeply is education, public education,” State Senator Jo Comerford told GBH’s Morning Edition co-host Jeremy Siegel.
Comerford said she and Senate leadership see community college as “the greatest equity engine, and also a workforce engine, an engine of opportunity.”
“We need that 21st century workforce to be ready to take on the new challenges. And we need them to be equitably ready, meaning everyone should have access to that opportunity,” Comerford said. “And that’s what public higher education offers.”
The new legislation builds on an existing initiative, which offers tuition-free community college education to Massachusetts residents over the age of 25 who finished high school but did not get a college degree. Comerford attributed an 8% rise in community college enrollment, which had been falling for a decade, to that program.
The new measure would make all Massachusetts residents eligible for tuition- and fee-free community college.
“This is a $2 billion investment overall, $256 million of it for financial aid, which I think is historic for this state,” she said.
Comerford said Senate leaders hope more community college students will also go on to get four-year degrees, with some help from new funding for needs-based financial aid through the MASSGrant and MASSGrant Plus programs.
“We are concerned, like our constituents are concerned, with debt that is crushing the rising generation,” Comerford said. “And we’re making the pathway between two-year and four-year institutions brighter, easier to navigate.”
“We’ve upped those numbers considerably,” she said. “We also are instituting this program called SUCCESS, which is aptly named, it’s wildly successful, and it has been at community colleges for students who are most at risk of not completing, not persisting. We’re putting that in the four-years.”
The next step: Gov. Maura Healey will decide whether to sign the bill into law.
“I would hope that the governor would see this as an opportunity, especially with what we’ve been talking about, especially with the embrace of a four-year ecosystem and the expression through these working groups, which are going to be very productive going forward,” Comerford said.
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