Latest news with #MassReconnect
Boston Globe
5 days ago
- Business
- Boston Globe
Federal student aid is on the chopping block. Meet five students at Mass. colleges who depend on it.
Advertisement The 'big, beautiful' budget reconciliation bill that narrowly passed the House last month with Trump's support would threaten part-time students' eligibility for Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'If you're not from a high-income family, there's not a lot to look forward to in terms of college costs going forward, given these policies,' said Phillip Levine, a Wellesley College economics professor who studies college pricing. 'If college access is your goal, this does not do it.' Advertisement With these threats looming large, the Globe spoke to five incoming and current students at Massachusetts colleges who rely on federal financial aid in one form or another. They shared what that money means for the lives they've cultivated — and the futures they hope to build. Here's what they told us. Down to your 'last dollar' The way Tyrie Daniel sees it, he wouldn't be getting his associate's degree next year if it weren't for the Pell Grant. The 34-year-old Cambridge resident first enrolled in Bunker Hill Community College in 2014, but he had to drop out to help his family pay rent. He returned in 2023 to study cybersecurity under Tyrie Daniel returned to Bunker Hill Community College in 2023 to study cybersecurity under the new MassReconnect program, which made his tuition free. Lane Turner/Globe Staff But Massachusetts treats programs like MassReconnect as $655 for the three-credit class he is enrolled in, which he balances with a variety of odd jobs, from cleaning to a side-hustle selling spices. 'I wanted to go full-time, but I have, you know, four businesses and rent and life,' he said. Under the House bill, students first receiving Pell Grants after July 1, 2026, would not be eligible for money if they were enrolled less than half-time — a threshold that, under the bill, would climb to a minimum of 15 credits per year, or 7.5 credits a semester. That would squeeze state programs such as MassReconnect and could also increase dropout rates for students across the board, the Advertisement 'It's pretty discouraging,' said Daniel of the proposed changes. When the levy breaks For Isabel Crews, getting her acceptance letter into Harvard University was a dream. Seeing her financial aid packet made it come true. The incoming freshman, who grew up in a small, rural town in central Missouri, qualified for a Pell Grant, plus $4,000 from the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, meant for students with 'exceptional financial need.' (Trump proposed slashing these grants in his fiscal year But the majority of her education will be funded by Harvard itself, which promises to cover all tuition, room, and board expenses for students 'If it wasn't for their really comprehensive aid, I would not have been able to attend,' said Crews, who is saving up from her beauty store and waitressing jobs before she heads to Cambridge. 'The uncertainty is always a little bit overwhelming, because at any point in time, you don't know what's going to happen next,' Crews said. 'We obviously didn't expect what has happened up to this point to happen at all.' Advertisement Soldiering on When Dallas teenager Bryan Gonzalez started his college search, his parents, both immigrants from Mexico, encouraged him to look at schools with generous financial aid. Heeding this advice, his high school counselor told him to check out Babson College. When he starts his freshman year there this fall, it will be because of a hard-won patchwork of aid: $64,000 a year from the Wellesley school, the maximum annual Pell Grant of $7,395, $1,000 a year through the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, and $9,000 a year from a private scholarship. When Dallas teenager Bryan Gonzalez start his freshman year at Babson College this fall, it will be because of a hard-won patchwork of aid. David L. Ryan/Globe Staff But headlines about cutbacks of the Department of Education have stoked concerns for Gonzalez and his family; they have very little wiggle room if even one portion of his funding were to unravel. So, in part to shore up his financial situation, Gonzalez plans to apply for a scholarship from the Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps, which can pay for students' tuition as they train for the military. 'That'll be another source of funding that I could rely on, just in case things go south with financial aid,' said Gonzalez, who plans to study finance and entrepreneurship. A grim prognosis Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic, when she spent hours at a time engrossed in surgery videos on YouTube, Lydia Du has been laying the groundwork for medical school. Du, who just wrapped up her freshman year at Tufts University studying biology, gets an $81,000 grant from Tufts, plus a Pell Grant, a Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, and $2,200 a year as a student electrician for Tufts' theatre department through federal work-study. But with the House bill proposing the phase-out of grad PLUS loans — which often Advertisement 'Everyone's kind of sitting there like, 'So, for those of us whose parents don't make $500,000 a year, are we screwed?'' she said. For now, she's just hoping the tide turns by the time she graduates, or that another boon comes through. 'I think I will apply to scholarships until my hands fall off,' she said. A private struggle For many students, cuts to financial aid remain hypothetical anxieties. Not Aiyina Meng. Last year, Meng was accepted into Worcester Polytechnic Institute's newly formed U-RISE@Wπ program — an initiative, funded by the National Institutes of Health, meant to support biomedical students from underrepresented communities. The program was a crucial financial cushion for Meng, carrying a yearly $16,000 scholarship and $14,000 stipend. She already receives a $25,000-a-year scholarship from WPI and has taken out $10,000 in federal subsidized and unsubsidized loans to finance her education, so the U-RISE money was a game-changer. 'It was like my ticket down this road,' said Meng, an incoming junior studying biotechnology and biology. Even with two part-time jobs and her plans to graduate a year early, Worcester Polytechnic Institute student Aiyina Meng still expects to have to take out private loans to get through her final year. Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff But in April, Meng was informed that NIH had terminated the $1.6 million grant that supported U-RISE at WPI. The school scraped together enough money to pay Meng's stipend through the summer, and she picked up another part-time job at a family friend's restaurant as an extra source of income. Even with those jobs and her plans to graduate a year early, she still expects to have to take out private loans — which Advertisement 'I just don't see another way,' said Meng. 'I have to get my degree somehow.' Dana Gerber can be reached at
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Billboards from Berkshires to Cape Cod highlight ‘crisis' at Mass. community colleges
For many students across Massachusetts, the creation of free community college was what has enabled them to go back to — or enroll for the first time — in higher education. Thirty billboards from the Berkshires to Cape Cod aim to highlight what is being overlooked — understaffing as a result of inadequate pay for staff and faculty. 'We want our students to succeed, and we celebrate their accomplishments this graduation season,' said Joe Nardoni, vice president at the Massachusetts Community College Council, the union representing faculty and staff at community colleges who launched the billboard campaign. 'We are worried, though, about the students enrolling now and their chances of successfully completing academic and career training programs in a timely manner if they do not have the support and services they deserve.' A spokesperson from the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education didn't respond immediately to a request for comment. At the end of July, Gov. Maura Healey signed into law universal free community college for Massachusetts residents regardless of income or age. The initiative, also known as MassEducate, was part of bucking a decade-long trend of declining enrollment in community colleges. The MassEducate program follows another initiative by the Healey-Driscoll administration called MassReconnect, which launched in August 2023. MassReconnect allows residents 25 years and older to obtain a degree or certificate through any public community college tuition-free. Since universal free community college went into effect, enrollment at community colleges has grown by 14% compared to fall 2023 and first-time college students or new transfer students student enrollment increased by close to 26%, according to data from the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education. Free community college has allowed Giana Sosa, a 20-year-old Cape Cod Community College student, to focus on school instead of having to work eight-hour shifts four days a week at Trader Joe's. But it has also added extra weight to professors like Stacie Hargis, business professor at Middlesex Community College, who spoke with MassLive in November 2024. 'We are still serving students the way we always do — we're just busting at the seams,' said Hargis, who is also the Entrepreneurship Program Coordinator at Middlesex Community College. Read more: 'Bursting at the seams': Free community college straining resources Nearly half of the members who are part of the Massachusetts Community College Council struggle with food insecurity, and most need a second job to pay for their bills, the union said. 'We have job openings that remain vacant for months, and in some cases years, because we cannot recruit qualified candidates. As workloads increase along with rising student enrollment, we fear that not only will we be unable to attract workers, but we also will start losing greater numbers of qualified faculty and staff,' said Claudine Barnes, president of the Massachusetts Community College Council. The 30 billboards have been placed around community colleges and around their graduation sites as commencement approaches. Read more: Teaching at community colleges is getting tougher. Why do employees stay? 'The Legislature and public higher education administrators are aware of the wage crisis affecting community colleges,' Barnes said. 'But we need the public to be aware as well and to advocate with us for state funding so residents can continue to benefit from free college.' Harvard amends lawsuit against Trump admin following $450 million cut Harvard 'failed to respond' to 450 discrimination complaints. Staff hand-delivered them again Trump administration cuts another $450 million from Harvard An undocumented student's story: Why it's hard to be here no matter who is president Jennifer Coolidge tells Emerson grads to 'just friggin' go for it' Read the original article on MassLive.
