Massachusetts is expanding college access. Now it must invest in completion.

The state’s Commission on Higher Education Quality and Affordability (CHEQA) has called for greater investments in the community college and state university SUCCESS program to help students reach graduation.

This op-ed by The Collaborative for Higher Education Access & Opportunity originally appeared in the Boston Business Journal.

By 2031, nearly three out of four jobs in Massachusetts will require education beyond high school. Completing a postsecondary education is no longer a luxury, it is the foundation of the commonwealth’s economic future, and our public colleges and universities sit at the center of that future. Powerful engines of economic mobility, our state colleges and universities produce graduates who earn $20,000 to $30,000 more annually than their peers with only a high school diploma.

But here is the sobering reality: While many students enter our public colleges and universities, far too few graduate with a degree in hand. Only 35% of students enrolled in community colleges ultimately graduate with a degree or certificate after six years, with even lower completion rates among Black (29.4%) and Latino (26.8%) students. While graduation rates are higher at our state universities and UMass campuses, there are similar disparities between student groups. These are not just statistics — they represent broken promises, unrealized investments and missed opportunities for thousands of students and for the state’s economic future.

The urgency of our current moment prompted the state’s Commission on Higher Education Quality and Affordability (CHEQA) to call for greater investments in the community college and state university SUCCESS program, along with streamlined financial aid, and stronger recruitment and retention of faculty and staff who are the backbone of our institutions.

These recommendations mirror a recently released policy roadmap to transform public higher education in Massachusetts, created by the Collaborative for Higher Education Access & Opportunity (CHEAO). Built on four pillars — access and affordability, student success and completion, degree value, and transparency and accountability — the roadmap calls for stronger postsecondary planning, financial aid that covers basic needs, degrees aligned with meaningful careers, and better data to track outcomes.

Massachusetts has taken important steps, with programs like MassGrant Plus, MassReconnect, and MassEducate, which help cover tuition and fees, and offer a modest stipend for books, transportation and living costs. But covering these costs is only the first step. The real test is whether the state can build the kind of comprehensive opportunities and supports — starting in high school and continuing through college — that actually carry students across the finish line.

To do this, the state must invest in and scale up evidence-based student success programs. These programs go beyond advising — they provide mentoring, tutoring, financial-aid navigation, and connections to housing, childcare, food, and mental health resources. Massachusetts already funds services like this through the Supporting Urgent Community College Equity through Student Services (SUCCESS) program, which has shown promise in closing completion gaps. But SUCCESS currently reaches only a fraction of eligible students. We need a coordinated statewide approach that ensures every student in our public higher education system has access to these supports, while allowing colleges flexibility to meet diverse needs.

Despite ongoing budget challenges, voters gave Massachusetts the tools to act. The Fair Share Amendment, passed in 2022 and also known as the "millionaires tax," requires that such revenues be spent on “quality public education and affordable public colleges and universities,” as well as transportation. With these resources, the commonwealth has a historic opportunity to finally build the public higher education system students deserve.

Yet for decades, Massachusetts has spent just 2.3% of its state budget on higher education — among the lowest in the nation. Fair Share was meant to change that. But recent budgets have allocated no more than 10% of these new revenues to public higher education, while base funding has remained stagnant amid inflation. 

To reverse this imbalance and implement the recommendations in the roadmap and CHEQA report, lawmakers should dedicate at least 25% of Fair Share funds to public higher education moving forward. This investment would allow the state to expand and deepen the impact of existing initiatives — including scaling SUCCESS — while advancing the other priorities highlighted in both reports. 

The blueprint exists. The funding, thanks to the passage of the Fair Share surtax, is within reach. Now it’s time to finish what we started. Let’s turn bold recommendations into lasting investments and ensure every student not only enters college, but has the chance to cross the finish line.

The Collaborative for Higher Education Access & Opportunity represents a group of six organizations: EdTrust in Massachusetts, Hildreth Institute, OneGoal, Latinos for Education, MassINC Policy Center and uAspire.