Email your State Rep and Senator using this action tool!

The MA House and Senate Budget released on July 7, 2017 underfunds public colleges and universities by $40 million just this year. This makes for yet another year of underfunding that has led to a 33% cut in state funding per student since 2001 (almost $550 million) causing increases of thousands of dollars in tuition, fees, and debt for students and working families across the Commonwealth.

Use this tool to let your State Rep and State Senator know that this is unacceptable. Then join us on July 13th to advocate for the Finish Line Grant and a significant new investment in public colleges and universities.

Read the state budget here: https://malegislature.gov/Budget/FY2018/ConferenceCommittee

You can find your state senator and representative's phone number at malegislature.gov.

Don't know what to say? Here's a draft script:

Hello. I am constituent of Senator/Representative (Blank), and I am calling regarding funding for public colleges and universities in the 2018 budget.

Please contact the members of the Budget Conference Committee that are currently finalizing the budget and ask them to use the Senate Budget figures for our public colleges and universities.

The Massachusetts Legislature has cut state funding for public higher education by 31% per student since 2001, causing thousands of dollars in tuition and fee increases for working students. Both Governor Baker's budget proposal and the House budget proposal underfund public colleges and universities by over $50 million and would cause yet another tuition and fee hike at our 29 public campuses.

The Senate budget proposal is a $40 million improvement that could limit a tuition and fee increase next year.

Meanwhile, our neighbors in New York passed four years of tuition-free public college.

Students and families are going to face the heavy burden of a tuition and fee increase next year. Our public colleges and universities already cost thousands of dollars a year just for tuition and fees. That makes it difficult to go to school, work, and support myself and my family. We cannot afford even higher costs this year.

Faculty and staff at our public colleges and universities already face cuts, and adjunct faculty do not receive equal pay for equal work. Yet another year of underfunding will make these and other problems even worse.