Bristol students discuss free college, other support programs with top education officials

FALL RIVER — Students at Bristol Community College spoke with top Massachusetts education officials about how free community college for adult learners and other supportive efforts could benefit students like them.

“I probably would have finished a decade ago,” said Comfort Korli, a current student.

Secretary of Education Patrick Tutwiler and Commissioner of Higher Education Noe Ortega visited the school on Thursday for a roundtable discussion with Bristol students and staff to promote two of the Healey administration’s education priorities and to hear how they would benefit students.

Healey’s state budget proposal includes $20 million to create MassReconnect, which would fund free tuition and pay for things like school fees and textbooks for community college for all Massachusetts residents aged 25 or older who do not already have a college degree.

Tutwiler said that percentage of college students who are 25 or older is on the rise.

“But often our programs target those coming out of high school, in many ways,” he said.

Bristol President Laura Douglas said the average age of a student at the college is 26. And, around 40% of their current student body are considered adult learners, meaning they are 25 or older.

What are Student SUCCESS funds?

The budget also includes $18 million, an increase of $4 million from the most recent budget, for Student SUCCESS funds. The Student SUCCESS program awards grants to community colleges to offer support and services to students who are members of particularly vulnerable populations, including low-income, first-generation, minority, disabled and LGBTQ+ students.

Maria Mendoza-Carbonell, a student at Bristol, spoke during the roundtable discussion about how the school’s SUCCESS fund benefited her. As an older student with a child of her own who started classes during the pandemic, going back to school and juggling classes with running her household was a serious challenge.

“It was just an overwhelming experience in general,” she said.

But, she got connected to a “success coach” through the program who helped keep her on track. The coach would check in with her to see how her classes were going and help ensure she was registering for the right classes.

“I think if I didn’t have someone checking in with me, I don’t think I would have made it through the first semester, to be honest,” she said. “Everyone, I think, needs a little push.”

What do students think about free community college

Other students talked about how free community college would have benefitted them.

Esha Boyd, who graduated from Bristol in 2022, came to the college after a challenging early life that included going to prison at 17. She said she knew earning a degree would allow her to build a career and that she wanted to inspire her daughters to also pursue college. Now, she’s earning a bachelor’s degree in social work and ultimately plans to become a lawyer.

“People do what they see,” she said. “How many kids are gonna see us go to college and want to do it?”

Speaking after the roundtable, Tutwiler said the $20 million for MassReconnect was calculated based on recent FAFSA applications, with the goal of having between 6,000 and 8,000 adult learners benefitting from the program next year and 10,000 the year after that. He stopped short of saying the Healey administration is interested in free community college for students of all ages, but didn’t rule it out.

“We see this as a start,” he said.

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Bristol Community College hosts Gov. Healey education administrators