Roxbury Community College is one of the Massachusetts institutions that have seen precipitous enrollment declines over the past decade. Massachusetts community colleges have been battered by a confluence of headwinds: a rapidly declining population of traditional college-age residents, a global pandemic, an economy replete with well-paying jobs that don’t require degrees, and rising costs of living. These circumstances have resulted in the loss of at least a third of enrollment at each of the state’s 15 community colleges, the equivalent of tens of thousands of students, over the last decade, according to data from the Massachusetts Department of Education. While the numbers look dire, community college leaders believe their institutions are on the brink of a resurgence as state policy makers are poised to pass MassReconnect, a free college program for adult learners without degrees.
