Photo: James Rojas/WBZ NewsRadio
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Local community colleges are expecting high enrollment numbers now that the state is planning to cover tuition and fees.
The Massachusetts Fiscal Year 2025 Budget has put aside $117 million for the MassEducate program, which will pay for students to attend any of the state’s 15 community colleges. For President of Bunker Hill Community College Pam Eddinger, this program will be “transformational.”
“We were holding our breath for close to a year as the budget developed,” said Eddinger. “We are just ecstatic.”
Eddinger is expecting a spike in enrollment at Bunker Hill Community College.
“I think we’re going to be in the double-digit [level of] increases and a good number of those students are going to be students who have never contemplated college, so we’re opening up a new population that we have not had before,” said Eddinger.
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Another reason why she is expecting an increase is the success of MassReconnect, which covers community college tuition for those 25 years old and over.
“In the year with MassReconnect, we grew close to 4,800 students across the system and here at this college, we had close to 1,000 last semester,” said Eddinger.
In order for students to maintain the financial support of the state, they must maintain academic eligibility “throughout the course of their studies.”
WBZ NewsRadio's James Rojas (@JamesRojasMMJ) reports.
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