Massachusetts Department of Higher Education: Shaping the Future of the Commonwealth

The Massachusetts Department of Higher Education (DHE) plays a crucial role in ensuring access to quality higher education for the residents of the Commonwealth. Functioning as the staff to the 13-member Board of Higher Education (BHE), the DHE executes the Board's policies and manages the day-to-day operations of the state's public higher education system. This system is designed to provide accessible, affordable, relevant, and rigorous programs that adapt to meet changing individual and societal needs for education and employment. The public system is committed to continuous improvement and accountability in all aspects of teaching and learning.

Overview of the Massachusetts Public Higher Education System

Massachusetts Public Higher Education is a system with a distinguished past, increasing and measurable accomplishments, and dedicated to being recognized as having one of the nation's most outstanding array of institutions.

The Massachusetts public higher education system comprises 29 campuses, divided into three segments:

15 Community Colleges: These colleges, also known as the Governor Foster Furcolo Community Colleges, offer open access to high-quality, affordable academic programs, including associate degrees and certificate programs.
Nine State Universities: These universities include six comprehensive state universities-Bridgewater State University, Fitchburg State University, Framingham State University, Salem State University, Westfield State University, and Worcester State University-and three specialized colleges-Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, and Massachusetts Maritime Academy.
Five Campuses of the University of Massachusetts: The University of Massachusetts system is a separate entity within the overall public higher education system.

Each of the state universities and community colleges has its own Board of Trustees, as does the University of Massachusetts system.

Mission and Goals

The mission of the Board of Higher Education is to ensure that Massachusetts residents have the opportunity to benefit from a higher education that enriches their lives and advances their contributions to the civic life, economic development, and social progress of the Commonwealth. To that end, the programs and services of Massachusetts higher education must meet standards of quality commensurate with the benefits it promises and must be truly accessible to the people of the Commonwealth in all their diversity.

The BHE’s Equity Goal is to significantly raise the enrollment, attainment, and long-term success outcomes among under-represented student populations. On January 29, 2025, the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education (BHE) voted to approve four strategic priorities that will guide the BHE and the Department of Higher Education’s (DHE) work in the years ahead. These priorities are designed to support BHE’s Equity Goal.

Key Responsibilities of the Department of Higher Education

Under the direction of the BHE, the DHE is responsible for executing the board’s policies for the day-to-day operations of the state’s higher education system. These responsibilities include:

Academic Affairs
Campus Strategic Planning
Performance Measurement
Fiscal Affairs
The Optional Retirement Program
The activities of the Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA)

Community Colleges: Accessible and Affordable Education

The fifteen Community Colleges (also known as the Governor Foster Furcolo Community Colleges) offer open access to high quality, affordable academic programs, including associate degree and certificate programs. Community colleges have a special responsibility for workforce development and through partnerships with business and industry, provide job training, retraining, certification, and skills improvement. In addition, they assume primary responsibility, in the public system, for offering developmental courses, programs, and other educational services for individuals who seek to develop the skills needed to pursue college-level study or enter the workforce. Rooted in their communities, the colleges serve as community leaders, identifying opportunities and solutions to community problems and contributing to the region’s intellectual, cultural, and economic development. They collaborate with elementary and secondary education and work to ensure a smooth transition from secondary to post-secondary education. Through partnerships with baccalaureate institutions, they help to promote an efficient system of public higher education. The community colleges offer an environment where the ideas and contributions of all students are respected. Academic and personal support services are provided to ensure that all students have an opportunity to achieve academic and career success.

State Universities: Fostering Intellectual and Personal Growth

There are six comprehensive state universities-Bridgewater State University, Fitchburg State University, Framingham State University, Salem State University, Westfield State University, and Worcester State University-and three specialized colleges-Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, and Massachusetts Maritime Academy. Each state university places a special emphasis on teaching and lifelong learning and promotes a campus life that fosters intellectual, social, and ethical development. Committed to excellence in instruction and to providing responsive, innovative, and educational programs of high quality, they seek to develop each student’s critical thinking, quantitative, technological, oral, and written communication skills, and practical appreciation of the arts, sciences, and humanities as they affect good citizenship and an improved quality of life. The state universities provide a campus environment where the ideas, values, perspectives, and contributions of all students are respected. Massachusetts state universities are strategically located to facilitate access to baccalaureate and master’s degree programs for Commonwealth residents who meet their high standards for admission. In recognition of their responsibilities to Massachusetts taxpayers to manage their resources efficiently and to maintain tuition and fees at a level as low as possible, each university has a distinctive academic focus based upon its established strengths and regional and state needs.

Collaborative Programs and Initiatives

The following Department of Higher Education programs and activities are collaborations among Massachusetts public higher education institutions.

Read also: Massachusetts Education Standards

Commonwealth Honors Program: Massachusetts is the only state in the country to offer an integrated network of honors programs throughout the public higher education system.
MassTransfer: MassTransfer makes it easy for students to transfer from one Massachusetts public higher education institution to another. It is a way for community college students who complete associate degrees to enroll in linked programs with the full transfer of credit, guaranteed admission and a tuition discount.
Commonwealth Dual Enrollment Partnership (CDEP): The Commonwealth Dual Enrollment Partnership (CDEP) provides opportunities for Massachusetts high school students to take college-level courses and earn credit simultaneously toward high school completion and their future college degrees.

Financial Aid and Support

The Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA) is primarily responsible for the management and oversight of all state-funded financial aid programs and advises the Board of Higher Education about financial aid policy matters of concern to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In addition to its financial aid responsibilities, OSFA is the principal agency for promoting access to higher education through early awareness initiatives that foster the recognition of college as a viable postsecondary option and the availability of financial aid resources to help students and families meet college costs.

OSFA currently offers 7 grant programs, 4 scholarship programs, 21 tuition waiver programs, and 1 fee waiver program.

Foster Child Grant Program

Recognizing the financial needs of foster children trying to pursue postsecondary education at colleges and universities, the Massachusetts Legislature funded the Foster Child Grant Program in 2001.

To be eligible for the Foster Child Grant Program students must:

Be a citizen or noncitizen eligible under Title IV [of the Higher Education Act of 1965].
Was placed in the custody of the Department of Children and Families through a Care and Protection Petition.
Has signed a voluntary agreement with the Department of Children and Families establishing the terms and conditions for receiving such aid.
Is enrolled full-time (twelve credits or its equivalent).
Has applied for financial aid, using the standard Free Application For Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
Is in compliance with applicable law regarding Selective Service.
Is in good standing and meets the institution’s requirements for satisfactory academic progress.
Not have been adopted nor returned home.

The Foster Child Grant Program provides a maximum of $6,000 per academic year for students enrolled in private non-profit or private for profit institutions for no more than 5 consecutive years. In all cases, funds must be awarded as “last dollar” grants, with eligibility determined after consideration of all other state, federal and institutional scholarship and grant resources. Institutions may not use the Foster Child Grant to supplant other state, federal or institutional aid previously awarded to the student. Wherever possible, institutions are encouraged to use the Foster Child Grant to reduce student education loan debt. An eligible institution shall mean a public, private, independent, for-profit, or nonprofit institution in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the continental United States authorized to offer undergraduate degrees or certificate programs. Therefore, the Commonwealth established the Foster Child Grant Program to reduce the burden of student loans for these students.

Read also: Navigating Mass Maritime

No Interest Loan (NIL) Program

According to Section 9 of Chapter 15a of the General Laws, the NIL Program offers interest-free loans to qualifying students attending postsecondary educational institutions in Massachusetts. Initially, the NIL Program was funded by an annual appropriation from the Legislature. Currently, the program issues approximately $6 million in loans each year and operates entirely on its loan repayments, which are maintained in the NIL Trust Fund.

To be eligible for the NIL Program students must:

Be enrolled full time (at least 12 credits or its equivalent) in a certificate, associate’s or bachelor’s degree program at an eligible institution.
Demonstrate financial aid need as determined by the federal methodology need analysis criteria.

The minimum initial NIL award a student can receive is $1,000, with a maximum award amount of $4,000 per academic year. NIL award amounts are determined according to financial need. A state approved public, private, independent, for profit or non-profit, issuing associate’s and/or bachelor’s degrees or certificate programs. The institution must be located in Massachusetts, and have signed a Participation Agreement with the DHE’s Office of Student Financial Assistance.

Oversight and Accountability

The Board of Higher Education enacts its responsibility to provide overall direction to the state’s system of public higher education by establishing statewide goals and regularly measuring and reporting progress toward these goals. Review and approval of campus strategic plans is an important aspect of this role. The Board is guided in this work by the BHE Campus Strategic Planning Committee.

The Research and Planning staff of the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education (DHE) works with the public institutions of higher education in Massachusetts on data collection and analysis and oversees a comprehensive, statutorily-required performance measurement system on behalf of the state universities and community colleges. The primary function of the office is to provide research, policy analysis and planning recommendations to support decision-making by the DHE, the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education (BHE), state government and the broader community of public higher education stakeholders. In support of this task the second primary function of the office is to ensure the quality, integrity and availability of information from the centralized Higher Education Information Resource System (HEIRS) database.

The Fiscal Affairs staff of DHE works with the public higher education campuses to ensure adherence to fiscal guidelines and reporting procedures, and to support efforts to enhance collaborating and efficiency across the system.

Regulation of Out-of-State Institutions

Independent and Out-of-State institutions must submit an application to the Board of Higher Education.

The Department of Higher Education does not require the submission of any information or data from out-of-state institutions at this time unless they have established a physical presence in Massachusetts, in which case they are subject to the requirements in the Board’s statutes and regulations, including periodic review and investigation as needed and annual reporting requirements for proprietary institutions. Institutions are required to submit annual reports for Hazing, FARM, and Campus Safety.

An investigation of an institution will be carried out when facts are brought to the attention of the Board suggesting a reasonable probability of non-compliance with 610 CMR 2.00; or suggesting a reasonable probability that a degree or degrees are being or will be awarded within the Commonwealth without proper authority; or that a course or courses available to residents of the Commonwealth leading to the award of a degree or degrees are being or will be conducted within the Commonwealth without proper authority.

Student Complaints

The Board of Higher Education attempts to provide an avenue for the informal resolution of complaints and concerns regarding institutions of higher education. After a complaint is submitted to the Board of Higher Education, the complaint is referred to the institution it concerns for explanation, response, and resolution, if possible. The institution generally has 30 days from its receipt of the complaint from the Board to provide a response to the complainant and the Board. If the forthcoming clarification and response concerning a Massachusetts institution do not satisfy the Board, the matter shall be referred to the Consumer Protection Division and/or the Public Charities Division of the Attorney General’s Office.

Records Retention

Massachusetts law requires closing institutions to notify the Board of Higher Education of its intention to close as far as possible and well in advance by contacting the Department of Higher Education. The majority of closed school transcripts and records are placed with another institution of higher education which has a registrar function that can service transcript requests. The Department of Higher Education maintains information about the location of transcripts for closed institutions.

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