Mass. Offers College Students Tuition Rebates, Cost Freezes

Lowell, MA - Flanked by the lieutenant governor and public higher education officials, Gov. Charlie Baker unveiled a new college affordability plan Thursday, meant to help students complete their college degrees sooner and with less debt.

Called the "Commonwealth Commitment," here are the basic tenets of the plan, according to a press release from the governor's office:

• Commit every public campus to providing 10 percent rebates at the end of each successfully completed semester to qualifying undergraduate students, in addition to the standard MassTransfer tuition waiver received upon entering a four-year institution from a community college.
• Students who meet the program requirements will, depending on the transfer pathway they choose, be able to realize an average savings of $5,090 off the cost of a baccalaureate degree.
• Tuition and mandatory fees will be frozen for program participants as of the date they enter the program.
• Students will begin their studies at one of the state's 15 community colleges, enrolling full-time in one of 24 Commonwealth Commitment/ Mass Transfer Pathways programs.
• Participating students must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0.
• After earning an associate's degree in two and a half years or less, students will transfer to a state university or UMass campus to earn a baccalaureate degree.

Fourteen programs will roll out this fall, and another 10 will start in fall 2017.

Leaders from the University of Massachusetts, Worcester State University and Middlesex Community College President formally signed onto the program Thursday, at a ceremony held at Middlesex Community College.

“This program was designed to decrease the cost of a college degree and accelerate on-time completion for students across the Commonwealth, creating more opportunities and helping more people get into the workforce with the skills they need,” Baker said.

Per the governor's press release, here's the fine print:

"After each completed semester, students will earn a 10 percent rebate on tuition and fees, payable in the form of a check, or may opt to receive a voucher to use for books or other education-related expenses. The program does not discount room and board, although students may choose to use their Commonwealth Commitment savings or other resources to offset some of those costs. Students' rebates or vouchers will be calculated based on the total cost of tuition and mandatory fees at the institutions they choose to attend. Additionally, students who enroll in free or reduced cost dual enrollment programs, taking college courses while still in high school, may be able to apply the credits they earn toward their Commonwealth Commitment degrees, thus reducing costs even further."

>> Photo from the Rappaport Center via Flicker / Creative Commons