Continuing Higher Ed Momentum: Why FY26 Must Build on Last Year’s Initiatives for Greater Impact

The Hildreth Institute’s Statement on Governor Healey’s FY26 Higher Education Proposed Budget:

We commend Governor Healey’s commitment to strengthening public higher education in Massachusetts. The  Governor’s proposed FY26 State Budget includes the “BRIGHT Act” which proposes to allocate $125 million of Fair Share revenues to leverage an estimated $2.5 billion in new borrowing capacity for higher education infrastructure needs over the next 10 years, reflecting  a thoughtful, long-term investment in our state’s public campuses.

While these investments address critical infrastructure needs, we urge the Administration and Legislature to keep students’ immediate financial challenges front and center. Despite historic investments in higher education in FY25, financial gaps still remain. To truly maximize the impact of those initial investments, the FY26 budget must build on existing initiatives—making them a starting point, not the finish line, for strengthening our higher education sector.

Programs like tuition-free community college and MassGrant Plus have broadened access, yet many low- and middle-income students report shortfalls in financial aid or promised stipends because these programs remain contingent on annual funding. With enrollments rising, the state should fully fund these initiatives so every eligible student can rely on consistent and predictable support—and go further to address significant remaining unmet financial need. As surplus Fair Share revenues continue to go underused each year, there is now a real opportunity to expand these programs and direct additional aid where it’s needed most—ensuring more students can enroll, persist, and graduate without undue financial hardship.

To address this, we have recommended that this budget cycle include an expansion of stipends for low-income students raising the current amounts from  $2,400 at community colleges and $1,200 at four-year institutions to at least $4,000 across all sectors, with a longer-term goal of reaching parity with the Pell Grant. Additionally, we recommend a significant investment in strengthening student advising and support services —particularly evidence-based models like ASAP/ACE that have been proven to significantly improve graduation rates— to convert increased enrollment into real student success.

We recognize and value the $132.9 million increase for collective bargaining agreements, but note that as enrollments rise, funding formulas must better align with the specific needs of each sector, characterized by who they serve while taking into account historic underfunding. Despite a 14% spike in enrollment this year and 22.7% overall growth at community colleges since 2023, the proposed budget provides these institutions only a 6% increase in appropriations, compared to 8% for state universities and 12% for the UMass system, where enrollment has remained nearly flat. These inequities hinder institutions’ ability to hire qualified staff, expand capacity, and innovate, ultimately limiting the impact of expanded access on student success.

These issues remain central to the Commission on Higher Education Quality and Affordability (CHEQA), established under the FY25 budget to review state aid programs, address student costs, evaluate success initiatives, improve faculty recruitment and retention, and refine financial aid design. We look forward to its recommendations and strongly urge that future budgets reflect these findings to ensure equitable allocation of resources and foster a fair, sustainable higher education system for all Massachusetts students.

As we continue collaborating with the Governor, Legislature, and Department of Higher Education, we believe that combining capital investments with targeted financial aid, robust student supports, adequate and equitable funding formulas will maximize the impact of Fair Share revenues, help students thrive, and reinforce Massachusetts’s leadership in inclusive, high-quality public higher education. This comprehensive approach will also address workforce shortages and strengthen the Commonwealth’s long-term economic vitality.

###

The Hildreth Institute is a nonprofit research and policy center dedicated to advancing student-centered, evidence-based strategies for expanding access, success, and degree value in higher education.