Welcome back to The PHENOM Update, our official monthly newsletter where we keep you updated with recent goings on in our campaigns and around the higher ed world!
Question 1 passes!
Great news! The voters of Massachusetts just passed a ballot measure whose proposal PHENOM championed: giving the state auditor (currently Diana DiZoglio) the authority to audit the state legislature. When the state legislature has gone over a century without an audit, this marks a watershed moment in the fight to make the Commonwealth’s government more transparent, accountable and democratic.
While this measure does not make direct fixes to the lack of transparency on Beacon Hill, what it does do is allow the state auditor to examine the finances of the legislature and check for any abnormalities in the budget.
This is critical given the potential for corruption in the state legislature: since the current laws do not require the State House to report crucial information such as how members vote and committees are formed, they are less accountable to voters. ‘
In turn, the leadership of the House and Senate use their power to reward members who are loyal to them and punish those who think for themselves.This has not only made it harder to pass innovative new legislation, but it has also led to the legislature outright refusing to enact measures voters already approved.
In an era where American democracy is increasingly under threat, now is a better time than ever to fight for a more transparent State House. Fortunately, auditing the legislature and seeing just what the State House has to hide is a great first step.
UMass system guarantees tuition-free college for lower-income students!
In a landmark announcement at the end of October, UMass system president Marty Meehan promised all students with family incomes below $75,000 could go to all UMass campuses tuition-free starting in the Fall 2025 semester.
Rather than create new taxes or cut other programs, according to officials the state will pay for it through a combination of existing grants and scholarships such as MassGrant and Pell Grants, on top of financial aid.
A key factor in making this possible has been a substantial 73 percent increase in financial aid for students since 2015, according to the Boston Globe. Just three months after the passage of free community college, it is clear that there is more and more momentum for fully tuition-free college if we only fight for it.
If you want to help us make debt-free, tuition-free college a reality, don’t wait: write your legislator through our letter campaigns and urge them to support the Debt-Free Future Act and the Endowment Tax Act!
Problems with MassGrant show the inevitable flaws of “last-dollar” scholarship programs
Although the scholarship program has had remarkable potential, it has not delivered as much as people expected it to. One factor is how confusing it can be since Massachusetts created MassGrant alongside another similar scholarship program, MassGrantPLUS. (Check out our explainer if you do have any confusion!) But another overlooked cause of its shortcomings is its very design as a “last-dollar” program.
According to UMass-Amherst student trustee Felicity Oliveira, the money for students from MassGrant is intended to be awarded in January. But instead of sending it out to students upfront, the state waits until students have collected all other aid, grants and scholarships.
This practically defeats the point of MassGrant, since then students apply for more scholarships due to uncertainty over their MassGrant award, and in turn they get less money than they originally deserved.
The result? Last year, students did not get their MassGrant funds until October. This is unacceptable when these crucial funds are meant to be received in March and can determine what college students will spend the next four years at.
This is the essential problem with such scholarships known as “last-dollar”: since they are designed to not award students only after they receive other aid, they unnecessarily delay awarding it and fail the whole mission of helping bright students.
A better option? Simply award the money as a block grant in January to ensure that students can combine it with other help as needed; or, in other words, make it first dollar, not last dollar.
In other news:
Trump’s plan to end the Department of Education: what does it mean for public universities?
Just one of the potential changes that might come with the next president? The abolition of the Department of Higher Education (DOE), which Trump and his allies already promised on the campaign trail. Conservatives have opposed the department’s existence since its creation under President Jimmy Carter, but it has gained more momentum this election cycle.
Nonetheless, given the lack of details in proposed plans as well as the degree of disruption it would have on students, experts say it is unlikely to happen. For one thing, since the Department of Education manages federal financial aid, any monumental changes to the DOE would create a degree of chaos for the FAFSA that would make this year’s problems look like child’s play.
The Department of Education also manages the federal government’s $1.7 trillion student loan portfolio, and experts disagree over where would possibly be a better broker. In addition, the agency handles the legal enforcement of federal financial aid laws and gives students an advocate in the White House cabinet.
But that is not to say the Department is not in need of reforms. As Neal McCluskey of the Cato Institute notes, although the DOE’s purpose has been to make college more affordable, he doubts there is any evidence it has. In fact, “I think there is evidence that the programs it runs makes college less affordable,” he says.
Given the DOE has presided over an era of colleges becoming more expensive than ever and more students falling into crippling debt (while the government profits from it), he may have a point.