On Wednesday, January 25th, The Education Trust in Massachusetts, MassINC, uAspire, One Goal, and Bottom Line hosted a forum on the future of public higher education finance in Massachusetts.
The hybrid event brought together more than 200 education practitioners, policymakers, and leaders for a timely dialogue on how Massachusetts deploys Question One funding to increase college access and success.
Chanthy Lopes Toro, Assistant Director of Communications and Engagement at the Education Trust in Massachusetts, opened the program with a summary of the troubling trends and the opportunity before us to make college affordable. EY-Parthenon’s Sam Wolfson presented findings from a recent review of public higher education spending and financial aid, revealing Massachusetts’ lagging position among other states. Chairman Chris Gabrieli outlined the investments that the Board of Higher Education recently proposed to remedy this problem. Then in a conversation led by Amanda Seider, Executive Director of OneGoal, we heard real-life examples of how financial challenges create barriers for students in discussion with Alayna Blodgett, uAspire College Affordability Advisor, Richeline Cadet, BottomLine Alum, and Karen Lopes.
Commissioner of Higher Education Noe Ortega described the urgent need to tackle these issues in discussion with MassINC’s Research Director, Ben Forman.
The event concluded with a moving call to action by uAspire’s Massachusetts Policy Director, Femi Stoltz.
You can view the event recording here and click here to download the slides presented by Chairman Chris Gabrieli and Sam Wolfson.