Massachusetts

Overview

Massachusetts is a national education and economic leader, ranking among the top five states on a variety of indicators, including college attainment, postsecondary participation rates for young adults, percent of workers in management and professional fields, and per capita income for residents. However, the focus on baccalaureate degrees and on the high productivity of private higher education might minimize the role of community colleges as equity and workforce drivers. Massachusetts should consider leveraging its postsecondary investments to ensure that community colleges maintain access, but also significantly improve completion rates. And with STEM and health credentials in high demand, lawmakers should assess how to advance current students and mid-career workers into these positions.

Data

How does Massachusetts rank compared to the national average?

Adults 25-64 with college degrees: 1st (50.2% vs. 38%)
High school graduates going directly to college: 2nd (74.6% vs. 63.3%)
Undergraduate awards per 100 FTE undergraduates:21st (20.4% vs. 19%)
STEM credentials awarded per 1,000 STEM employees: 30th (53.4% vs. 54.4%)
Workers with college degrees earning low wages: 4th (18.5% vs. 22.9%)

For more information, please see the following documents:

Massachusetts Data Profile

Massachusetts Data PowerPoint

The college attainment rate in Massachusetts is substantially higher than the U.S. average, due in large part to high degree productivity rates and the annual net migration of college graduates. While changing demographics, especially minority population growth, could impact overall attainment, Massachusetts is in a strong economic position relative to New England and the nation-at-large. To maintain the state’s comparative advantage, policymakers should continue to leverage postsecondary investments for young adults, while considering ways to improve postsecondary participation for older adults and minorities.

Policies

Boosting College Completion has produced a comprehensive 50-state legislative database related to college completion and workforce development. The database will grow as we continue to collect and analyze policies.

Check out the BCC database for a more complete summary of Massachusetts’ policies. Click on the Menu arrow for additional options, such as printing the summary.

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Analysis

Boosting College Completion has developed a policy profile for Massachusetts based on an analysis of data and policies related to college completion and workforce development.

Massachusetts Policy Profile

Massachusetts is a national education and economic leader, ranking among the top five states in the nation on a variety of indicators, including college attainment, postsecondary participation rates for young adults, percent of workers in management and professional fields, and per capita income for residents. The percentage of workers with bachelor’s and graduate degrees reduces income inequality for all workers, regardless of educational attainment level.

According to the New England Economic Partnership, Massachusetts and the region did not suffer as broadly from the Great Recession as other states, due in large part to the strength of the technology and health science sectors. However, the report also projects that “the number of jobs in the transportation, financial activities and manufacturing will decline.”

A report released in November 2011 by the Boston Foundation recommends that the state community college system refocus its mission to be more responsive to changes in the labor market precipitated by economic growth or recession. By leveraging state resources and strategies to accommodate changes in demographics and the realities of workforce demand, Massachusetts will continue to be a regional and national leader. However to retain this status, the legislature should consider:

Assessing the implications of current higher education funding levels on the attainment of state strategic goals, such as access, affordability and degree productivity
Evaluating whether system and institutional strategies to increase completion have led to measurable improvements in degree attainment rates and reductions in equity gaps
Developing a statewide workforce strategy that leverages high migration rates and identifies specific goals and metrics for measuring progress toward postsecondary and workforce goals
Connecting education and workforce data to find out what college graduates are earning, the fields they are employed in and the value of their degrees to the workforce
How to facilitate the scaling of promising institutional efforts that could accelerate learning, reduce time-to-degree and increase completion rates.