All are welcome to attend our November 14th UMass Dartmouth Higher Ed for All community meeting!
Public higher education campuses, including the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, the state universities, and community colleges, play a vital role in the economy of our state, both from the immediate activity of faculty, staff and students as well as in preparing a well-educated workforce for the future. High-quality and affordable public higher education is essential to our Commonwealth, serving as a key driver of our economic vitality, a catalyst for civic participation in our democracy, and a pathway to good jobs and the middle class for thousands of Massachusetts residents.
However, chronic disinvestment in public higher education over the past few decades has made high-quality public college increasingly unaffordable and unattainable for students in our Commonwealth, threatening the livelihood of residents and the economic competitiveness of our state.
Massachusetts public colleges and universities are suffering from faculty and staff shortages across that stem from low pay and untenable workloads, diminishing the individualized support and attention that students need and deserve. Campus buildings and facilities are crumbling after years of disrepair as campus budgets fail to make up for state disinvestment. Years of tuition and fee increases have forced students to take on enormous amounts of debt to receive what should be an affordable public education.
Join the UMass Dartmouth Faculty Federation, the UMass Dartmouth Maintainters and other members of the UMass Dartmouth community to learn about two pieces of legislation that would address these issues: the Cherish Act and Debt-Free Public Higher Education Act.
What: Colin Jones, Deputy Policy Director at the Mass Budget and Policy Center, will highlight the findings of the Center’s recent report: Higher Education Investments: Supporting Our Economy and Future Generations. Presidents Grant O’Rielly and Nick Gula will facilitate a discussion about the state of UMass Dartmouth and steps we can collectively take to realize a fully-funded, well-resourced public higher education system.
Who: Supporters of an affordable, high-quality public higher education system.
Register here: https://actionnetwork.org/events/umdcommunitymeeting