A grant from the Baker-Polito Administration has recently awarded a core group of Massachusetts state universities and community colleges a total of $1.25 million through the Department of Higher Education’s Performance Incentive Fund, according to a press release from Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker’s office.
The funding will drive increased innovation across the public higher education system. In addition, the largest share of the money totals $695,000, and will be used to launch programs that allow high school students to enroll in and take college courses before graduating from high school, according to the release.
Baker said these programs will enrich high school students and better prepare them to join the workforce.
“The Performance Incentive Fund grants will help our higher education system continue its important development of highly skilled and educated workers,” Baker said in the release.
The schools that received the grants were Bridgewater State University, Bunker Hill Community College, Mount Wachusett Community College, Westfield State University and Worcester State University. All campuses plan to use the funds to increase the number of students in demographics that are typically underrepresented in higher education environments, according to the release.
Commissioner of Higher Education Carlos Santiago said the programs are a smart educational investment and will serve to benefit students later on.
“Every indicator demonstrates that exposure to college helps high school students build the self-confidence and the skills they need to succeed at the postsecondary level,” Santiago said in the release.
Katy Abel, spokesperson for the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education, wrote in an email to The Daily Free Press that the fund is comparable to an education program created by the Obama administration.
“The Performance Incentive Fund could be described as higher education’s version of ‘Race to the Top,’ the Obama administration’s competitive grant program for states,” Abel wrote. “In our version we’ve created a competitive grant program for community colleges and state universities to foster innovation and change in higher education.”
Abel wrote that the grant’s aim is to combat issues relating to higher education in Massachusetts.
“The grants are used to attack specific problems in higher education, such as the problem of students not being academically prepared for college,” Abel wrote. “Massachusetts has a shortage of college grads, so helping more students succeed in college is a big goal.”
Abel wrote that the state needs more college graduates, especially in high-need fields like computer science, and said the program will work to reduce the amount of time it takes students to graduate.
“The hope is that by introducing college coursework before a student graduates from high school, we can reduce the number of students who need expensive remedial courses once they get to college,” Abel wrote.
The grants will have tremendous benefits for high school students who take advantage of the program, she wrote.
“The campuses would use the money to plan programs with their local high schools that will allow students to take college courses while still in high school,” Abel wrote. “Best of all, students will get introduced to college culture.”
There will also be continued efforts to bolster Massachusetts public higher education going forward, Abel wrote.
“We’ve got an initiative called the Commonwealth Commitment that allows students to spend two years at community college and then transfer to a state university or [University of Massachusetts] campus and reduce the cost of a bachelor’s degree by an average of 40%,” Abel wrote.
Abel stressed the importance of increasing the number of students who attend college, as the local economy depends on a high-skilled workforce.
“The high school population is shrinking,” Abel wrote. “If we’re going to replenish our supply of brainpower, we need more students going to college and actually completing their studies. The state’s entire economy benefits from investments in higher education. Tech companies and hospitals need a steady supply of skilled talent.”
Zac Bears, the executive director of the Public Higher Education Network of Massachusetts, said while the program will be beneficial for students, the Baker-Polito administration needs to increase their efforts and funding for higher education.
“I think the program itself is very good, but I wouldn’t characterize it as a very big increase in funding,” Bears said. “It’s only going out to five campuses. So I think it’s a good pilot program, but I don’t think it’s a very big increase in higher [education] funding. We need a much larger, much broader attempt.”
Several Boston residents said they support Baker’s designation of funds for higher education purposes.
Justin Ward, 23, of the North End, said individuals who receive a college education are made available to more opportunities for success than those who do not.
“Higher education gives you better job prospects in the future,” Ward said.
Dan Ladd, 24, of Back Bay, said he was in favor of the resources being used for educational purposes.
“If the funding is going to education, fine,” Ladd said. “But if the money is just [going to] allow them to increase their costs for those who can afford it, then there’s no point.”
Saba Karim, 30, of Downtown Boston, said she sees the inherent value in allocating funds to higher education programs.
“College and university is where you go to learn technical skills,” Karim said. “You learn to help people and work in the world. It’s become really important today.”
Shannon Larson contributed to the reporting of this article.
