RELEASE: National Report Recognizes Massachusetts Advocates Leading Student Debt Charge; Over 15 Percent of Massachusetts Zip Codes Hold Alarming Rates of Loan Balances FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Kyle Epstein kepstein@americanprogress.org; 202.481.8137 Washington, D.C. – As student debt levels nationwide surge above $1.3 trillion, the pursuit of a higher education has never been more unaffordable. In […]
One week into our 10 Days to $10K Challenge, you’ve raised more than $3,600. That means we’re less than $1,400 from meeting our $5,000 match — doubling our fundraising. Help us get to our goal by donating here. Just a $10 donation can make a huge difference! Thank you to all of those who have […]
On Wednesday, September 16, 2015, PHENOM’s Executive Director, Natalie Higgins, testified before the Joint Committee on Higher Education. Here is her testimony: I am writing to you today as the Executive Director of PHENOM (the Public Higher Education Network of Massachusetts), as a proud graduate of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and a concerned citizen. […]
This morning a coalition of 23 state and national organizations sent a letter to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan with comments on the proposed REPAYE program. “The proposed regulations include a new income-driven repayment plan, called Revised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE), which improves upon existing plans in a number of key ways. REPAYE would let […]
Excerpted from the 2015 Spring Newsletter $2.5 billion a year goes to loan repayment instead of commerce By Anastasia Wilson Anyone concerned about student debt in our state can look up the statistic: in 2012 about 66% of students graduated with an average of $28,565 in student loan debt (in constant dollars). And the number […]
Yesterday, the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center released a new report: Debt-Free Public Higher Education: What Would It Take? The Report calculates the cost of (1) eliminating tuition and fees for all current in-state students at Community Colleges and State Universities, (2) providing grants to cover Community College costs, including tuition, fees, books, and transportation, […]
Excerpted from 2015 Spring Newsletter STCC PHENOM Chapter by Juhi Dasrath Springfield Technical Community College’s campus chapter had the great opportunity to be a part of Advocacy Day, where we addressed our concerns about making higher education more affordable and accessible for college students. We started making waves by taking small strokes on our […]
By Natalie Higgins, PHENOM’s Executive Director Excerpted from 2015 Spring Newsletter President Obama’s free community college proposal put affordability and accessibility of public higher education on the national agenda in a big way. PHENOM has been organizing around affordable and accessible high quality public higher education since its beginning. And we know that removing tuition and fees also removes […]
As the new state legislative session is kicking off, there are many proposals PHENOM is excited to support because they will promote accessible and affordable, quality public higher education in the Commonwealth. PHENOM’s Finish Line Grant proposal would cover tuition and fees for one year for students who have completed a year already, and whose […]
By Natalie Higgins, PHENOM Executive Director Excerpted from 2015 Spring Newsletter On April 2, 2015, UMass Boston hosted a forum on “Tackling the Student Debt Crisis,” with Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Elijah Cummings. It was one in a series of forums held by the Middle Class Prosperity Project launched by Sen. Warren and Rep. Cummings. PHENOM has supported […]