Despite a broad potential scope, “MassReconnect” program is expected to start out small, helping around 8,000 students in its first year. But Healey presented it as part of her administration’s broader reinvestment in public higher education, after years of flat or declining state support.
Why 25 and older? Why not give it for free to everyone who wants it?
Because the vast majority of people with the time to go to college (customers) are 18-24
Any time you see something like this: lobbyists were involved
It’s unfortunate but at least it’s a step forward. Who knows maybe in a couple years the people can vote to just have it free for all ages.
Be like me where my parents made too much but wouldn’t support me so I had to wait until 25 to get my AA because of the bulkshit fafsa income rules.
If you were one of those groups, you could have gotten scholarships.
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There is a bill in the works called the CHERISH Act in Massachusetts that would allow all residents to graduate community college debt-free (note not actually free just support people enough they don’t go into debt).
Mass Reconnect (the program in the article) was created from 20 million dollars taken from the new Mass millionaires’ tax. CHERISH is estimated to cost about 500 million (a great investment but definitely a scale of magnitude larger)
I think what’s crazy about CHERISH is that it would raise state investment in each student just to the level seen in 2001. Crazy how much even states like Mass have cut education funding in the last 20 years.
probably the only way banking lobbyists would allow it to pass, they still need the most vulnerable chunk of the age groups going to college, and the lion’s share of them.
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