Massachusetts colleges see enrollment gains — and retention challenges
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Massachusetts community colleges are seeing an increase in early enrollment after the state made the two-year colleges free.
- Now comes the hard part: making sure students can get that degree.
Why it matters: Black and Latino students have far lower completion rates than their white counterparts in public colleges, including those in the UMass system.
Driving the news: Community college enrollment increased 14% between 2023 and 2024, per state estimates.
- The state's public higher education system as a whole saw its second annual increase in fall undergraduate enrollment after nine straight years of declines.
- Much of the growth is coming from community colleges.
Framingham State University saw an 18% increase in new first-year students.
- More than half of them identify as people of color or indigenous.
Salem State University's total enrollment increased for the first time in 12 years.
The big picture: Overall public enrollment remains nearly 10,000 students shy of pre-pandemic levels, but some higher education experts believe public colleges will continue to see increases with free community college.
Yes, but: Students are struggling to complete their education, based on a review of outcomes for students who enrolled in public colleges in the past six years.
- The state highlighted stark racial and ethnic gaps, raising concerns about inequities that are creating education barriers.
Zoom in: The state set the completion rate goal for community colleges at 40% by 2033.
- The rate rebounded slightly for Black students to 27.3% and fell for Latino students to 25.5% in the 2022-23 academic year, the most recent year available.
- The rate for white students already exceeded the target, reaching 40.1%.
Completion rates for four-year public universities, including the UMass system, showed similar disparities.
What's next: Massachusetts leaders are exploring how to address barriers to education, from child care and transportation costs to confusion around what classes cover prerequisites when students transfer to a four-year public college.
- A recently released report on how to boost diversity and equity gave several recommendations for retaining students, including helping address cost-related barriers.
- Michael Dannenberg, deputy commissioner for policy, cited several state commissions that are working on helping college students.