Image by Amelia Pak-Harvey/Lowell Sun
04/22/2016
Lowell Sun
By Amelia Pak-Harvey
LOWELL -- A groundbreaking statewide program announced Thursday will create a more affordable college degree for community college transfers, with tuition rebates and freezes estimated to knock an average of at least $5,090 off of a four-year degree.
Touted as the first agreement of its kind in the nation, the Commonwealth Commitment program will offer a 10 percent rebate off tuition and mandatory fees at the end of every successful semester, officials announced at Middlesex Community College.
"From my point of view, this is really all about giving kids and their families a set of options that can make the cost of a college education dramatically less expensive," said Gov. Charlie Baker, standing among higher-education officials from across the state.
The program also offers a freeze on tuition and mandatory fees throughout a student's four years in the program.
And once they're in a state or UMass university, students with a 3.0 GPA can earn a 100-percent tuition waiver through the existing MassTransfer program.
Eligible students begin full time at one of the state's 15 community colleges, maintain a 3.0 GPA and complete their associate degree within 2.5 years. If they are accepted into a state university, they must complete their bachelor's degree within another two years.
Only certain majors are eligible for the program, ranging from biology to psychology at UMass and state universities or painting, printmaking and sculpture at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design.
Baker estimated a 20 percent to 35 percent reduction in the cost of a four-year degree.
"You're talking about a possibility of getting a four-year degree in one of these key fields in four, four and a half years for somewhere between $20,000 and $25,000 before grants and scholarships," he said. "I really think this is a terrific opportunity for folks."
The goal is not only to make college more affordable, but to encourage students to complete their degrees more quickly.
"One of the reasons why, in some instances, the cost of higher education is going up is because folks are taking too long to graduate," said UMass President Marty Meehan. "We want to get students that are graduating in four years, or four and a half years."
Individual campuses will bear the cost of tuition rebates and freezes.
"The campuses are really stepping up," said Higher Education Commissioner Carlos Santiago. "To them it's an advantage. If you can get students through the system at a faster rate, that does lower their cost as well."
But beyond affordability, the program streamlines transferrable credits throughout the entire 28 campuses of the state's public higher-education system.
That makes it easier for students to transfer from a place like MCC to Worcester State University, for example.
The agreement emerged from the many $30,000-degree initiatives that colleges had throughout the region, Santiago said.
"The campuses created the framework for this project," he said. "Our thinking was simply, if a student can move seamlessly within a region and pursue a high-quality, affordable degree, why not across the entire system of public higher education?"
It's a program highly pertinent to Lowell, where 34 percent of MCC students transferred to UMass Lowell last year.
MCC President James Mabry called the program a three-way win.
"We all win because the students we transfer are well prepared," he said. "They all succeed. So it's not hard for them to get into a state university when they have a community college degree."
The program is welcome news for students like Hilton Sanchez, a senior at Lawrence High School who plans to come to MCC and transfer to UMass Lowell or Salem State. He works at Whole Foods to save money for college.
"I think it's a really good opportunity for students," Sanchez said