Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 From the Council of Presidents, Massachusetts State Colleges

Statement on Proposed Establishment of a

Joint Higher Education Committee

(Framingham, MA -- January 25, 2005 ) The Presidents of the nine State Colleges of Massachusetts are gratified that the state legislature has proposed the creation of a new committee devoted to issues of higher education, which testifies to the leading role higher education plays in the Massachusetts economy and in educating our residents for a changing workforce and their civic and community responsibilities.  The creation of a separate legislative committee dedicated to higher education issues also underscores the growing recognition that a quality high school education on its own does not unlock the doors of economic and social opportunity - it is the indispensable next step of higher education that provides the key.

Public colleges and universities educate 63% of Massachusetts’ residents who attend college in state, and over 80% of State College graduates remain in Massachusetts after graduation.  As the state continues to shift to a knowledge-based economy, the importance of the public higher education system will increase with the growing demand for an affordable, four-year degree.

The proposed higher education committee sends a strong signal that Massachusetts can no longer afford to rank near the bottom of the nation in its support for public higher education.   Greater competition from other states and from an increasingly global economy demands that Massachusetts must outperform the rest of the country in educating its professional workforce if the state is to continue to grow and prosper. 

The nine Massachusetts State Colleges are four-year, baccalaureate and master’s degree-granting institutions with 45,000 students and more than 225,000 alumni.  They include six comprehensive colleges that combine a liberal arts education with professional development training, which are located in Bridgewater, Fitchburg, Framingham, Salem, Westfield, and Worcester, and three specialized colleges, including Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams, Massachusetts College of Art in Boston and Massachusetts Maritime Academy in Buzzards Bay, Cape Cod.

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