Worcester Business Journal

10 Worcester Business Journal | December 11, 2023 | wbjournal.com BY ISABEL TEHAN WBJ Staff Writer T he November expansion of the MassGRANT Plus program by the Gov. Maura Healey Administration meant $62 million more dollars will be available to Massachusetts state college and community college students, covering tuition for approximately 25,000 students. e new funds will have a marked impact on the public colleges and universities in Central Massachusetts, and administrations are hopeful this level of funding will become permanent and change the landscape of higher education for publicly educated students. Enrollment has hit a 10-year low at all five of the state universities and community colleges in Central Massachusetts, with a considerable drop between fiscal 2020 and fiscal 2023. If the new level of funding becomes permanent, Central Mass. higher education officials are hopeful more people will choose to attend college. "We're hearing from people saying they wanted to go to school years ago, and now they feel they actually can," said Marcia Rosbury-Henne, associate vice president of enrollment management at Mount Wachusett Community College in Gardner Making college more accessible e funds, which came from the millionaire's tax, expand the eligibility population of students beyond those with family income below $40,000, who have traditionally accessed funds through the federal Pell Grant program. At Worcester State University, a $3-million portion of the funding will impact approximately 1,000 students, said Ryan Forsythe, vice president of enrollment at WSU. is level of funding is historic, he said. "It's hard to ignore the significance of this moment. ese are big dollars," Forsythe said. Students with family income under $100,000 will be eligible for elevated levels of funding for the first time. is funding will hopefully make higher education seem more accessible for students from backgrounds of lesser financial means, said Iris Godes, Framingham State University dean of strategic enrollment management. With enrollment at 10-year lows, Central Mass. public colleges see big things from free tuition plan Godes believes the funding, guaranteed for the 2023-2024 school year, will result in fewer students dropping out of college due to financial reasons. "I hope we will see students be able to persist in college and persist in their degrees," she said. e university does not have an accurate figure for the number of students who typically drop out due to financial reasons. Both Worcester State and Framingham State in fiscal 2023 had their lowest levels of full-time equivalent enrollment in the 10- year span since fiscal 2014, when the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education has publicly available data on enrollment. Since fiscal 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic hit college enrollment hard, Worcester State saw its enrollment drop from 5,160 to 4,419, a drop of 14%. Framingham State dropped from 4,894 to 3,621 (26% decrease) since fiscal 2020 while Fitchburg State University decreased from 5,398 to Big dollars for higher education About 1,000 Worcester State University students will benefit from the MassGRANT Plus program expansion, an historic milestone, said Ryan Forsythe, WSU's vice president of enrollment. PHOTO | CHRISTINE PETERSON Iris Godes, Framingham State dean of strategic enrollment management

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