Student Health Insurance Complaint

PHENOM has joined with a number of other organizations in filing a formal complaint with the state’s Division of Health Care Finance and Policy concerning student health insurance.  At UMass Amherst and UMass Dartmouth, students’ insurance plans have been changed to include “co-insurance” for services or procedures not available at their campus health service.  Unlike […]

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Gambling Revenue for Higher Education

PHENOM and all supporters of public higher education won a major victory when the Massachusetts House passed an amendment allocating a portion of the projected casino revenues to public higher education. PHENOM has no position for or against legalized gambling in Massachusetts, but fought hard to have higher education included among the programs receiving dedicated […]

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Finish Line grants referenced on leading economics blog

One of PHENOM’s priorities is finding ways to improve graduation rates at public colleges in a way which is meaningful and stays true to our goal of meaningfully improving accessibility for poor and working class students. The neoliberal approach currently being pursued by Beacon Hill focuses on increasing graduation rates by increasing selectivity, using metrics which […]

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Buying Books for the Semester?

PHENOM can get a share of what you pay for books and supplies on line at no extra cost to you. Just click on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or other vendors and you’ll get to their website. Your shopping experience will be the same as ever, but PHENOM gets some much-needed cash so we can […]

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Higher Ed Left Out in the Cold….Again

In the last few weeks, three announcements show, once again, that rhetoric and reality face a severe disconnect on Beacon Hill when it comes to public higher education. First, the Governor proposed how to use the $460 million in unanticipated, unbudgeted revenue from this past fiscal year.  2/3 would go into a rainy day fund, […]

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PHENOM Power Point

A colorful and informative presentation for campus or community groups.  Feel free to adapt and use!  (Ferd Wulkan 9-11) A chock-full-of-facts overview created by Nicole Ouimette, student at Holyoke Community College 9-11 My First Protest: An entertaining perspective on PHENOM’s March 8, 2010 Rally on the Boston Common through the eyes of a young woman […]

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Beacon Hill to Public Higher Ed: “Privatize!”

Commentary from PHENOM member Ben Taylor on PHENOM’s blog The agenda on Beacon Hill for Public Higher Education is becoming crystal clear: privatize, privatize, privatize. Dire warnings of a near 2 billion dollar deficit were used to ram through harsh cuts to nearly every aspect of the public sector. Public Higher Education was among the […]

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