Healey-Driscoll Administration Celebrates Massachusetts’ Progress on Expanding College Affordability and Equity

Healey-Driscoll Administration Celebrates Massachusetts’ Progress on

Expanding College Affordability and Equity 

 

DARTMOUTH – The Healey-Driscoll Administration today celebrated the launch of Go Higher, a new brand and awareness campaign designed to inspire more students to go to college by highlighting Governor Maura Healey’s efforts to make community college free and expand financial aid at public four-year colleges and universities. Secretary of Education Patrick Tutwiler and Higher Education Commissioner Noe Ortega visited UMass Dartmouth to speak with students, educators, and community leaders on how the state’s investments and multitude of initiatives are breaking down barriers and opening more doors to higher education across Massachusetts.  

 

“Massachusetts is leading the way in proving that higher education can be both excellent and affordable,” said Governor Maura Healey. “Through Go Higher and the work of the ACARE Council, we are showing students and families that college is within reach and that we are committed to success for every student and their families.” 

 

“Our administration is laser-focused on making sure every student in Massachusetts can see themselves in college, through free community college, more affordable four-year pathways, early college experiences, and more,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “The progress we are celebrating today is about giving all young people the tools, guidance and financial support they need to achieve their dreams.” 

 

The event also coincides with the opening of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the 2026-2027 post-secondary academic year. This federal form is required for students to be eligible for certain federal and state financial aid, including free community college and opportunities to attend the state’s public four-year universities without paying tuition and fees. Certain eligible students who cannot submit a FAFSA may submit a Massachusetts Application for State Financial Aid (MASFA) to apply for state financial aid. Students and families can learn more about FAFSA/MASFA by visiting Mass.Gov/FinancialAid. 

 

“The Go Higher campaign and the ACARE implementation plan are about more than policy — they’re about students and families,” said Education Secretary Dr. Patrick Tutwiler. “With Go Higher as the unifying brand and ACARE as the guiding framework, Massachusetts is ensuring that higher education is not just accessible, but transformative for all students.” 

 

“Advancing equity in higher education requires building awareness of college-going opportunities, a crucial component highlighted in the ACARE report,” said Commissioner of Higher Education Noe Ortega. “Go Higher is part of our efforts to close information gaps and make sure students know Massachusetts is investing in historic financial aid programs to help make college possible for them.”   

 

“We want all Massachusetts students, including recent high school graduates and adult learners, to understand that they have an affordable path to a college degree,” said Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Pedro Martinez. “We are proud to work with the Department of Higher Education to increase access and equity.”

 

"The Go Higher campaign is a great way to let students and families know about all the financial aid support that is available to make public higher education more affordable,” said UMass President Marty Meehan. “We are grateful to the Healey-Driscoll Administration for their expansion of the MassGrant Plus program, which has bolstered our affordability initiatives at UMass. We’ve worked hard to ensure a world-class UMass education remains affordable and accessible.”

 

 “I want to express my gratitude to the Healey-Driscoll Administration, the legislature, and partners across the Commonwealth for prioritizing higher education through initiatives like Go Higher,” said UMass Dartmouth Chancellor Mark A. Fuller, PhD. “When we invest in students, we are investing in the future—strengthening our communities and driving a vibrant economy. Public support ensures that UMass Dartmouth students have access to the advising, financial aid, mental health resources, and academic opportunities that enable them to thrive.” 

 

“I am grateful for the public funding that has allowed me to attend UMass Dartmouth tuition-free,” said Graham Kratochwill, a junior majoring in Human Resources Management. “Not having to worry about all the financial issues makes it easier to focus on my studies, graduating, and starting my career.” 

 

The Go Higher campaign builds on the report the administration released a year ago centered on increasing access, equity, and support for historically underserved and underrepresented students across Massachusetts. This report was crafted with the administration’s Advisory Council to Advance Representation in Education (ACARE) that had been launched in 2023 ahead of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on affirmative action.  

 

Massachusetts’ college access and affordability accomplishments under the Healey-Driscoll Administration to-date: 

 

Increase Exposure and Access to Higher Education for K-12 Students 

·       The administration hosted a Financial Aid Road Show, a five-week tour to eight high schools across Massachusetts, engaging hundreds of students to encourage FAFSA/MASFA completion and highlight nearly $400 million in available state financial aid. 

o   The Financial Aid Road Show coincided with the administration’s “College is Possible” ad campaign, which ran from late February to mid-May. The campaign targeted high school seniors and adult learners across Massachusetts with billboards and TV, radio, and digital ads in English and Spanish that highlighted financial aid opportunities.  

·       The administration launched the Go Higher brand and communications effort to raise awareness about the full suite of affordable higher education pathways, from free community college, free and more affordable four-year opportunities, grants, scholarships, loan forgiveness, tuition waivers, and in-state tuition. 

·       The administration awarded nearly $1 million in MyCAP grants to 135 schools in 49 districts across Massachusetts to help them adopt the My Career and Academic Plan (MyCAP), in addition to technical assistance and coaching to support planning and implementation. 

·       The administration has approved 36 new early college programs, supporting more than 10,000 students in the 2025-26 school year, with the goal of providing Early College access to as many as 22,000 students by the end of the decade. Early college gives thousands of Massachusetts high school students the chance to earn free, transferable college credits before graduation. 

o   New data shows that 66 percent of Early College graduates immediately enroll in higher education after high school, with the majority enrolling at a public college or university in Massachusetts. 

o   Once enrolled in higher education, former Early College students are also persisting - with 87 percent staying in college through a second term and 82 percent returning to college for a second year. 

·       Massachusetts continues to support access to Advanced Placement and subsidized 57,552 AP exams for low-income students over the past two years, supporting continued gains of Black or African American and Hispanic or Latino students who take an AP exam, as well as last year seeing the state’s highest percentage ever of Massachusetts students scoring a 3 or higher on an AP exam and the highest in the nation for the second year in a row. 

·       The administration has expanded Innovation Career Pathways to 82 more high schools, adding 132 additional pathways for students and created a Clean Energy pathway.  

·       The administration has approved 49 new career technical education (CTE) programs, supporting 2,334 additional students, and opened an application for $60 million in CTE program capital grants to add 2,000 more. 

 

Re-engage Adult Learners and Encourage Participation in Higher Education 

·       The administration awarded $24.2 million in Career Technical Initiative (CTI) implementation grants to 23 school districts to train 2,490 individuals for careers in high-demand occupations within the trades, construction, and manufacturing sectors across Massachusetts. 

·       The administration has leveraged state and federal funds to award more than $10 million in apprenticeship grants and launched apprenticeships for early childhood educators and k-12 educators. 

 

Implement Innovative Recruitment, Admissions and Enrollment Policies 

·       The administration released joint guidance with the Attorney General’s Office that provides information on legally compliant ways that educational institutions can continue to meaningfully and successfully achieve the worthy goals of diverse and equitable student bodies consistent with state law, Title VI, and the U.S. Constitution. 

·       DHE launched the legislatively created MassTransfer Steering Committee that is charged with advising DHE on the creation, implementation, and improvement of the MassTransfer program to allow for a more efficient credit transfer system among public IHEs. This also includes exploring a common course numbering system with the goal of creating transparency for credit transferability. 

·       Sixteen colleges and universities in Massachusetts now offer direct admission to students (Curry College, Dean College, Fisher College, Hampshire College, Lasell University, Lesley University, Merrimack College, Nichols College, Regis College, Salem State University, UMass Boston, UMass Lowell, Western New England University and Westfield State University). 

 

Improve Equity in Financial Aid and Enhance Support for Historically Underserved and Underrepresented Students and the Institutions that Serve Them 

·       Financial aid access has grown substantially, with the state’s commitment nearly doubling over the past two years. Massachusetts’ Fiscal Year 2026 budget invests approximately $400 million in state financial aid programs.  

o   This funding continues investments that made community college free, public four-year colleges and universities tuition and fee free for low-income students (those who qualify for federal Pell Grants) and cut out-of-pocket costs in half for middle income students; and continue offering need-based financial aid to students attending private institutions. 

o   Last year, all Massachusetts low-income students eligible for federal Pell grants had their college tuition, mandatory fees, books and supplies paid for by state and federal financial aid. 

o   The administration’s MassGrant Plus expansion made all full and part-time Pell Grant students eligible for MASSGrant Plus and allowed enough funds for all qualifying students to be awarded the grant.  

o   MassReconnect has enabled enrollment growth across every racial and ethnic group of adults age 25 or over. Over the two-year period from Fall 2022 to Fall 2024, Hispanic or Latino students experienced the highest increase at 57 percent, followed by Black or African American students with an increase of 43 percent, and white students with a 33 percent increase. 

·       Following the launch of the administration’s MassGrant Plus Expansion at state public universities, several Massachusetts’ private colleges and universities have lowered tuition and fees and/or made attendance tuition and fee free for low-income students (e.g., Tufts University, Harvard University, MIT, The College of Holy Cross, Mount Holyoke College, Lasell University, Brandeis University, and Bay Path University).  

·       DHE launched the legislatively mandated Commission on Higher Education Quality and Affordability to review and make recommendations on higher education assistance programs and funding, student costs and debts during and after attending universities, programs that improve student success, improvements needed to increase recruitment and retention of faculty and staff; and financial assistance program design and models to efficiently increase state assistance, improve outcomes and reduce student costs. 

 

Increase Persistence and Completion for Historically Underserved and Underrepresented Students in Higher Education 

·       The state awarded $28 million in SUCCESS funding at community colleges and state universities last year, aimed at increasing graduation rates, particularly among historically underserved students. That was the first year that state universities received this funding, which was continued again this year.