Free community college has MA residents 'beyond excited.' How the new law works

WELLESLEY — When Edgar Kasirye was a boy growing up in Uganda, he dreamed of becoming an aerospace engineer, but educational opportunities were limited. In 2018, the now grown-up Kasirye was granted immigration to the U.S., and he moved to Massachusetts with his wife and three children.

"In Africa, people talk about America as the place of dreams," he said. "When I first arrived, I knew I wanted to go to school and start pursuing education."

However, Kasirye was met with the steep reality of having to pay for school. While enrolling at MassBay Community College, he struggled to pay for school while also working full time and providing for his family. He was limited to taking a few courses at a time, and began accumulating student loans to help pay for them.

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"Sometimes, the loan being given to me couldn't cover all the classes, so I was paying out of pocket, and I could register to take two or three classes at a time," Kasirye said. "Then one day, Valerie (Kapilow), the STEM director at the school, told me there was a new program that would be able to help people in my situation."

Who can attend community college for free in Massachusetts

The new program, MassReconnect, is funded by the state and grants all Massachusetts residents aged 25 and older free community college tuition. It even offers reimbursement to students who have already accumulated debt. State officials visited MassBay's main campus in Wellesley on Thursday to unveil the program, which goes into effect this fall.

"Starting today, community college is free for anyone aged 25 or older in the state of Massachusetts," Gov. Maura Healey said during the public event. "No tuition, fees, books, supplies and more. I believe this will have a transformative impact for thousands of students around the state, their families, our workforce and our economy."

Program should allow people to take more classes, graduate faster

MassBay President David Podell said many community college students take a course or two at a time due to the cost, which delays the education process and creates barriers preventing students from graduating.

"MassReconnect is going to open many, many opportunities for students," Podell said. "As it is now, they are taking very few credits, sometimes because they can't afford it. They have jobs, they have families, they are making sacrifices just to hang on to their education. It's a very slow way to get your degree, and some students never get there."

Podell said enrollment for the fall semester is up 17% from a year ago, and he anticipates that number will grow as more people become aware of MassReconnect. Podell said the school has been buffing up its student services division to make sure new students have the support they need to stay enrolled.

"We know from states that did something like this already, that the retention rate falls," Podell said. "We're preparing ourselves to prevent that, giving them more wraparound services, more advisement, more tutoring, counseling, dealing with food insecurity — we are trying to do all of those supports to help make sure students are following through and as many of them stay as long as possible."

Nursing program free for all students

Besides MassReconnect, the state is also enacting a program that makes community college nursing programs free for all students, regardless of age.

The program is aimed at assisting with a nursing shortage that is impacting health care systems throughout the country, including at MetroWest Medical Center in Framingham, which has faced significant staffing challenges over the past several years.

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"The more nurses that we get into the field, the more nurses in our workforce, we will have less contracted nurses from outside, which will hopefully lower the cost of health care," said state Senate President Karen Spilka, D-Ashland. "There are nursing shortages everywhere — hospitals, nursing centers, community health centers, our schools, everywhere."

Tuition-free college brings students back

Eliminating tuition for residents over age 25 also offers opportunities for those who have had trouble attending and sticking with school on a regular basis.

Nick Lekas, of Framingham, started attending MassBay during the pandemic. But an opportunity to get a promotion at work forced him to make a decision between school and his job.

"I got the option to take on new roles," Lekas said. "I worked my butt off, 60 to 70 hours a week, and my school work began to suffer. I was traveling a lot for work and the time zone differences made it hard to get assignments in on time, and I had to make a very difficult choice."

Lekas, now is a dental assistant, aims to become a hygienist. He will do all of his prerequisite courses at MassBay.

"I'm beyond excited to return to school," he said. "When I got the call, I was so pumped. I can't wait. Being able to go back at no cost, it's amazing. It relieves a burden, it takes a huge weight off my shoulders and taking the financial aspect out of it allows me to focus more on school."

Kasirye, the immigrant from Uganda, will graduate from MassBay after the fall semester. He plans to go on to study chemical engineering at UMass Boston. The free tuition and reimbursement will not only allow Kasirye to graduate faster, but will also enable him to focus more on his family.

"My kids, it's the summer time and the first thing they ask me is where we are going on vacation," he said. "They don't really understand that I'm paying for student loans and we might not be able to do something that costs a lot of money."

Podell said the cost to attend MassBay full time is about $7,500 a year, a large amount for students who have expenses beyond college.

"For those students, it (MassReconnect) removes such a burden and suddenly, a college education becomes within reach," he said. "They still need to do the work, read the books, write the papers, take the exams.

"All of that is the same, but the financial pressure is now alleviated."

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Why older students, educators are excited about free community college