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Massachusetts offering free community college to residents 25+

The average age of students at Springfield Technical Community College is 26, so the new program could help many achieve their degrees, according to STCC President John Cook.
WWLP
The average age of students at Springfield Technical Community College is 26, so the new program could help many achieve their degrees, according to STCC President John Cook.

STCC President Cook sees tremendous upside

With the start of the new academic year, Massachusetts launches a free community college program for residents age 25 and older.

Gov. Maura Healey included $20 million in her first state budget for the MassReconnect program. On Thursday, she met with community college presidents from across the state to promote it.

The program offers students last-dollar support to cover the cost of tuition, books, supplies, and any services they might need to complete a degree.

According to the governor’s office, the program could potentially benefit 1.8 million Massachusetts residents who have only a high school diploma or an equivalent. There are another 700,000 state residents with some college credits, but no degree.

WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill spoke with John Cook, President of Springfield Technical Community College.

Paul Tuthill is WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief. He’s been covering news, everything from politics and government corruption to natural disasters and the arts, in western Massachusetts since 2007. Before joining WAMC, Paul was a reporter and anchor at WRKO in Boston. He was news director for more than a decade at WTAG in Worcester. Paul has won more than two dozen Associated Press Broadcast Awards. He won an Edward R. Murrow award for reporting on veterans’ healthcare for WAMC in 2011. Born and raised in western New York, Paul did his first radio reporting while he was a student at the University of Rochester.