Bill > H1068

This bill aims to strengthen and expand affordable, quality higher education opportunities for residents of the Commonwealth by ensuring that public institutions like the University of Massachusetts, state universities, and community colleges receive adequate funding for both their operating expenses and capital needs, including infrastructure and technology. It also establishes a policy to create a unified transfer system across all public higher education institutions, making it easier for students to transfer credits between schools. To improve financial literacy and transparency, all postsecondary institutions must provide uniform financial aid information to prospective students and clearly list available scholarships and grants on their websites, while also informing students about loan repayment and forgiveness programs. Furthermore, the bill introduces a Partnership to Advance Collaboration and Efficiency (PACE) to foster operational efficiencies and cost savings within public higher education, and establishes the TAFDC Career Pathways Trust Fund to support students receiving cash assistance in pursuing community college programs leading to degrees or certificates. The bill also includes provisions for tax credits to encourage contributions to prepaid tuition and college savings programs, mandates financial literacy education in K-12 schools, and allocates significant funding for capital improvements to public higher education facilities, alongside increases in state scholarship funding and the development of new funding formulas for state universities and the University of Massachusetts that emphasize student completion rates. Finally, it introduces pilot programs for loan repayment for licensed certified social workers and for supporting students in completing their degrees, as well as a program to incentivize business partnerships with higher education institutions.