Public Hearing on Funding Public Higher Education Scheduled at STCC
College students, high school students, staff, faculty, and community leaders from Western Massachusetts will gather at Springfield Technical Community College on Wednesday, April 2 for a public hearing on the funding of public higher education. The public hearing will consist of a panel of community leaders hearing personal testimony from students and staff of the area high schools and colleges, about costs, financial aid, debt, career choices, and the impact on the economy.
The hearing will take place in the 7th floor conference area of Scibelli Hall on the STCC campus, from 12:15 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. The public is invited to attend this event.
PHENOM, the Public Higher Education Network of Massachusetts, “unites students, faculty, staff, alumni, and others from community and state colleges, the UMass campuses, and the broader community. PHENOM was founded in February 2007 around 5 key principles:
- Fund public higher education so it can serve the Commonwealth.
- Make higher education affordable.
- Make higher education accessible to all.
- Hire more teachers, researchers, and staff.
- Honor and expand democratic institutions of governance for public higher education.”
During Public Higher Education Week, March 31-April 4, PHENOM is holding four public hearings in the state – at Fitchburg State College, UMass Dartmouth, UMass Boston, and STCC. The hearings focus on the “crisis of affordability and access” and are exhorting legislators for action to “Fix it; Fund it; Afford it.”
According to the organization, “The 500,000 people who make up the Massachusetts public higher education community are the sleeping giant of Massachusetts politics. By mobilizing a large and engaged grassroots network, PHENOM is waking up this sleeping giant so we can get the resources to create the public higher education system we and our children deserve.”