Expand PACT

H.B. 6885: AN ACT EXPANDING THE DEBT-FREE COMMUNITY COLLEGE PROGRAM

What is PACT?

The Pledge to Advance Connecticut tuition assistance program currently helps students who attend CT State community colleges. It pays for a student’s tuition and mandatory fees after applying federal and state grants. Students must be a Connecticut resident, fill out the FAFSA, and enroll in six or more credits. Those who have their tuition covered by Pell and other grants also receive a basic needs assistance grant, making this a “middle dollar” program.

What are we asking for?

CSU-AAUP is advocating to expand PACT into the Connecticut State Universities. This would make our institutions more accessible for more students. The CSUs cost three times as much as CT State, and they also do not offer the same levels of financial aid as private institutions and the University of Connecticut.

Why is this important? 

Expanding PACT would address several problems in our state:

• Workforce: Reports show that Connecticut has labor shortages in many industries, as well as a need for more workers in emerging fields like cybersecurity and digital analytics. Many of these understaffed fields require bachelor’s degrees and programs offered by the CSUs.

• State and community impact: Those with bachelor’s degrees earn more in their lifetimes than those without. There are also spillover effects on the place they live. Those with bachelor’s degrees use fewer public assistance programs and pay more in taxes than those without degrees. They are also more likely to vote and to volunteer in their communities. An analysis of a potential free-tuition program in Illinois showed that including four-year institutions in the program would generate $37 million more in spillover earnings benefits for residents than only including two-year institutions.

• Equity: Connecticut is one of the most expensive states to live in. Our public higher education institutions also have the fourth most expensive in-state tuition fees. Less than half of adults in our state have a bachelor’s degree, and the number is even lower in more urban areas like Bridgeport and New Haven. Prohibitive costs are a big reason why. Research shows that free tuition programs also greatly increase enrollment of Black and Latinx students.

• Enrollment: PACT has already helped enrollment for CT State. Less than 40% of CT State students transfer to a four-year institution. Providing tuition assistance would help more students continue on to earn bachelor’s degrees. Across the country, colleges with similar programs saw great boosts to enrollment.

• Success: Retention rates for students who take advantage of PACT at CT State are 17% higher than those who do not. Graduation rates are 9% higher.

• Public support: Several polls show that the majority of people, across the political spectrum, support free tuition programs.