Western Mass community colleges see continued enrollment growth under MassReconnect

Greenfield Community College. STAFF FILE PHOTO/PAUL FRANZ
Published: 07-25-2025 4:37 PM |
Two years since Gov. Maura Healey launched MassReconnect, a program ensuring a free community college education for students ages 25 and older who do not have bachelor’s degrees, community colleges in western Massachusetts have seen year-to-year enrollment increases.
According to data from the state Department of Higher Education, community college enrollment of new students in the MassReconnect population grew by 39.6% between the fall 2023 and 2024 semesters statewide. This builds on a 45% year-over-year growth in this same student population in 2023, MassReconnect’s inaugural year.
“I proposed and created MassReconnect so that more Massachusetts residents could afford to return to school and get the skills and training needed to succeed in today’s economy,” Healey wrote in a statement. “We know that a community college degree increases students’ income and helps ensure our businesses have the workforce they need to grow. This new data shows that the program continues to be a success, and our students, businesses and economy are all benefiting.”
Greenfield Community College’s Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Success Shanni Smith-Arsenault said the college saw a 25% increase in MassReconnect students between the fall 2023 and fall 2024 semesters.
More than half of GCC’s student population, Smith-Arsenault added, is now age 25 and older. She said those in the 25 and older demographic generally take advantage of the college’s flexible courses that allow them to work while they study.
“We’re really trying to set students up for a world beyond GCC, and this is a wonderful first step. It’s a step that can allow them to have some flexibility, have some opportunity ... perhaps going on to earn a bachelor’s or a master’s degree,” Smith-Arsenault said. “The 25 and over crowd were often referred to for many years in higher education as ‘non-traditional,’ and they’re becoming more traditional. They’re becoming the norm here.”
At Holyoke Community College, Dean of Strategic Recruitment Initiatives, Admissions and Financial Aid Mark Hudgik said there was a roughly 7% increase in enrollment in the program’s first year and HCC is headed toward a 14% increase from the fall 2024 to fall 2025 semesters.
Hudgik said that among the 25 and older demographic, the school saw a roughly 10% increase in enrollment between the fall 2023 and fall 2024 semesters, and is expected to see another 10% from 2024 to 2025.
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MassReconnect-qualifying students, Hudgik said, tend to explore education in health, criminal justice and liberal arts.
“A lot of adult students tend to have earned credits throughout their life, but may not have earned a degree, and the general liberal arts allows them to bring them all together into a degree that allows them to transfer. Liberal arts tends to be a large attraction,” Hudgik said. “A lot of folks’ hesitation about college has been the expense of it — even if many students would already be eligible for maximum financial aid, sometimes having a price tag that is $6,000, $7,000 a year can seem prohibitive. So when you remove the financial barrier, I think it opens up people to feel like they have more options and to take a risk on themselves and give it a shot.”
According to the Healey administration, community college students ages 25 and older enrolled in majors connected to high-demand industries, nearly doubling between 2022 and 2024 those majoring in business and communications, trades, STEM, health, social and behavioral sciences, and human services majors.
“As a first-generation college student, I never thought this moment would come,” MassReconnect student Krystin Woodard said in a statement about her recent Springfield Technical Community College graduation. “Thanks to MassReconnect, I am now graduating and heading into the BSN nursing program at Elms College, something that once felt out of reach. The financial support lifted such a heavy weight off my shoulders and allowed me to focus fully on my studies.”
Free community college programs have also brought about an increase in completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which is required for students to access free community college.
Since the creation of MassReconnect and the subsequent MassEducate program, which makes community college free for qualifying students under age 25 and adult learners with one prior associate degree, FAFSA completion rates among qualifying students have grown according to the Healey administration. In 2024, FAFSA completion for students in the MassReconnect population was 88%, a more than 4% increase over the prior year.
The administration recommends that students fill out the FAFSA as soon as possible to benefit from financial aid programs.
“Higher education opens doors to transformational opportunities,” state Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton, Senate chair of the Joint Committee on Higher Education, said in a statement. “It’s heartening — especially at this moment — to see the continued positive impact of robust state investment in Massachusetts students and our campuses through MassReconnect.”
Anthony Cammalleri can be reached at acammalleri@recorder.com or 413-930-4429.