UMass schools will offer free tuition to low-income students starting fall 2025

Starting next fall, UMass Boston will waive tuition and fees for thousands of eligible students across the state as it joins a small but growing number of four-year universities implementing free-tuition programs.

“Investing in public higher education is both the right and smart thing to do,” said UMass Boston Chancellor Marcelo Suárez-Orozco as he addressed students and faculty on the Dorchester campus Tuesday afternoon.

The new initiative will benefit more than 3,000 students from families earning $75,000 or less. UMass Dartmouth, which made the same announcement Tuesday,
expected approximately 1,500 students from the state will benefit from the program. A spokesperson for the UMass president’s office says the option will be rolled out to all four UMass undergraduate options beginning in the 2025 academic year.

The initiative, called
Beacon promise at the Boston school, comes as more four-year institutions look for ways to compete with free community college options, which have grown in popularity in Massachusetts and across the country.

Last month, Saint Anselm College, a four-year private school in New Hampshire, announced it would offer it
free tuition to eligible citizens.

Robert Kelchen, a higher education policy expert at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, notes that as community colleges in Massachusetts and other states focus on affordability, four-year schools are feeling pressure to compete with these offerings.

“If community colleges are cheaper and the public knows about it, four-year colleges should respond with similar types of programs,” Kelchen explains. “There is a lot of competition for students. It will become more intense.”

All colleges face a demographic cliff approaching in 2026, as many American families
postponed or opted not to have children after the 2008 recession. And administrators at four-year schools have told GBH News they fear community colleges are hurting their enrollment numbers.

While the number of freshmen has fallen this fall — down 5% nationally, according to the National Student Clearinghouse — community colleges in Massachusetts are moving in the opposite direction. That’s largely thanks to a new program called MassReconnect, which takes care of…
community college is tuition-free for many.

Since fall 2023, enrollment at the state’s public two-year colleges has increased 14%. Meanwhile, enrollment at UMass Boston increased by just 1% over the same period.

According to higher education experts, many four-year schools can offer free tuition programs at minimal additional cost thanks to existing state and federal subsidies that cover a significant portion of tuition for eligible students. At UMass Boston, financial aid officials estimate the new program could cost between $800,000 and $1 million annually.

Suárez-Orozco said more students will have the opportunity to pursue a four-year degree without financial barriers, contributing to the university’s mission to expand access to higher education.

UMass Boston senior Isabella Pino said that as a first-generation college student from a Latino family, she felt a lot of pressure to be successful.

“During the pandemic, I spent hours researching on Google, on any platform, trying to find the right university for me,” recalls Pino, who studies communications and management. “I knew I didn’t want to spend every minute of my time looking for ways to pay for my education.”

Pino said UMass Boston gave her the opportunity to graduate debt-free through a combination of federal and state grant programs and institutional financial aid. She applauds the university for expanding its tuition-free program.

“It really brings me so much joy that this will enable future emerging leaders to take full advantage of every opportunity and their time here,” Pino said.

Half of UMass Boston’s transfer students come from the state’s community college system, but few earn a bachelor’s degree within six years. To improve completion rates, UMass Boston last month
signed a joint admissions program with nearby Bunker Hill Community College.

“We offer a quality product at a price that is extremely competitive,” Suárez-Orozco told GBH News. “Our partnerships with the community college systems will continue to grow.”