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.

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. 

Spread the word

Here's a puzzle: Working from home appears to make people feel more alone, but forcing them back to the office full-time won't necessarily make them feel better, according to new research published in the Harvard Business Review.

Why it matters: Loneliness is a huge societal issue with often devastating health and cultural fallout, as the U.S. Surgeon General has warned — and in the workplace it can be particularly damaging.

• Lonely workers are less productive, rack up higher health care costs and are more likely to quit their jobs, says Constance Noonan Hadley, a professor at Boston University's Questrom School of Business, who co-authored the study.

Zoom in: Lonely workers want to feel closer or more connected to colleagues.

• The researchers defined work loneliness as "the distressful experience of having a higher desire for social connection than what is subjectively experienced while working."
• They surveyed 1,000 full-time office workers, aged 22-50, working in "knowledge" fields like finance, software engineering and consulting.

What they found: The loneliest workers are getting a lot of face-to-face contact, but it doesn't seem to help: 47% of the most lonely respondents said they conducted nearly half of their prior month's work in person.

• There was no difference in loneliness between those in-office full-time and those who are hybrid. Fully remote workers, on average, were slightly lonelier.

What matters the most, per their research, is the number of social opportunities workers have.

Keep reading: What employers can do

🗳 The latest UMass Amherst poll shows a tight presidential race with Vice President Kamala Harris getting 48% of the vote and former President Trump getting 46%. (WCVB)

Federal authorities arrested a man yesterday for allegedly masturbating and exposing himself to passengers on a flight from Abu Dhabi to Boston. (NBC Boston)

🍽 The Lenox Hotel in the Back Bay is replacing its three restaurants. (TimeOut)

• Sweeney's on Boylston opens Nov. 1, replacing Sólás Irish Pub.
• The Irving is replacing City Bar in the lobby lounge.
• Another restaurant is replacing City Table next year.

Steph here. I've always been afraid of canning and even pickling — who wants to risk botulism? — but a free class taught me the basics. 

Why it matters: The Boston Public Library's Nutrition Lab is offering no-cost guidance that not only inspires healthy eating, but also zero-waste cooking. 

BPL's chef-in-residence, Glorya Fernandez, brought in chef Michelle Carter for two pickling classes recently. 

Price: However much your groceries and vinegar cost (you could get a $5 veggie box from the Flashfood app). Plus any jar in your kitchen. 

What we did: Chopped some herbs, onions, tomatoes and peppers, and poured some vinegar over it. 

• Carter suggested pickling with different types of vinegar, whether it's rice vinegar or malt or balsamic. I hadn't considered that before. 
• Same goes for the herbs. Some recipes, like pickles, might call for dill and parsley. Others, like onions or peppers, could use rosemary, thyme and basil. 
• Adding seasoning is key, whether it's garlic powder, adobo or other spices. 
• We cut a square of parchment paper to place on top of the jar, and sealed it. 

If nothing else, the class taught me how to properly chop vegetables. 

• I've heard of the claw technique, but I've been bad at practicing it. Thanks, Ms. Glorya. 

Tell a fellow cheapskate

Last night was a celebration for the ages. Now the Celtics prepare to win the championship all over again.

• They're off to a good start with last night's 132-109 victory against the New York Knicks.

The Celtics scored 29 3-pointers by the fourth quarter, tying the NBA record for most triples in a game, per the Bleacher Report.