Enrollments in 2009-10 at Massachusetts public colleges increased dramatically, especially at the community colleges.  The 7% increase in students in Fall 2009 compared to a year before is unprecedented and comes at the same time that state support has decreased by record amounts.  The Board of Education has compiled the data here.

Legislators make choices, and ours have chosen to disproportionately target our public campuses, our students, and our economic future.  Legislators in other states also face difficult choices and they have not all made the same choices.

So what does it mean?  Massachusetts spends $5,591 to support the typical in-state student at a public college.  Nationally, the average is $6.928.

We urge you to bring this report to the attention of your State Representative and State Senator.

This report on State Higher Education Finances has valuable data, charts and tables that show how Massachusetts Higher Ed compares to other states.

This report from Demos documents how “financial supports can improve postsecondary success”.

Just as a postsecondary education has become essential for getting a decent job and entering the  middle class, it has become financially out of  reach for many of America’s young people. The  cost of going to school has increased exponentially, while financial aid policies have increasingly abandoned students with the greatest financial need. Read the rest of this entry »

The “uncoordinated cutting of funding for higher education that we generally see in U.S. state systems” has not been seen in other countries, says a report by the Center for Studies in Higher Education, at the University of California at Berkeley.  Support for higher education is a national priority in many countries which embrace the Keynesian idea of using government investment to push an economic recovery, whereas in the U.S. higher education is funded by states which must run balanced budgets.