Framingham State University is proud to announce its involvement in the recently launched Massachusetts Alliance for Early College, a coalition of more than 80 organizations across Massachusetts that are collaborating to substantially increase the number of students in Early College programs from 4,500 today to 45,000 in five years. 

Framingham State is represented on the alliance through the MetroWest College Planning Collaborative, a joint venture between FSU and MassBay Community College to help low-income and underrepresented students and families earn their college degrees. The Collaborative oversees the MetroWest Scholars Early-Start Program, which exposes high school students in Milford, Framingham and Waltham public schools to in-demand professional fields, such as business, education and criminology as they take college-level courses for free and earn real credit toward their degrees.

"Early College is a proven strategy for addressing the college attainment gap," says Framingham State President F. Javier Cevallos. "We are excited to be part of this ambitious new initiative to expand early college programs across the Commonwealth."

In Massachusetts, students of color are less than half as likely to complete a college degree within six years after high school than their white peers. Among the 4,500 high school students currently enrolled in Early College programs, two-thirds are students of color, and nearly half are from low-income families.

Erika Giampietro, founding Executive Director of the Massachusetts Alliance for Early College, commented, "There is significant momentum building in the Commonwealth behind Early College, and that’s because it works. Students from low-income communities and students of color are on track to earn college degrees at significantly higher rates. Massachusetts has lost 30,000 college students over the span of the pandemic, disproportionately in underserved communities. But we have a program that works, and the legislature and leaders at the highest levels are supporting it. There has never been a more important or more hopeful time than now to grow high quality Early College in Massachusetts."

Since 2017, the state’s Early College initiative has experienced significant growth; the state legislature has increased funding for these programs to $11 million in FY22, a tenfold increase from just $970,000 in FY18. In January, Governor Baker released an FY23 state budget proposal that would increase funding for Early College programs by two-thirds, from $11 million to $18 million, demonstrating the state’s commitment to bringing this initiative to scale.