Transfer Pathways
Community Colleges Offer Students Unparalleled Financial and Personal Support
Community college communities are diverse by every measure. Students are full-time professionals, parents and primary caretakers, and many individuals who are pursuing a degree or certificate are also working towards financial stability.
Supporting student success means ensuring that every student has access to the guidance, resources, and holistic support services that address financial concerns. By helping them overcome or alleviate these burdens, community colleges allow students to truly stay focused on their academic and personal goals.
Transparency, Guidance, and Holistic Support
Melissa Holster, Executive Director of Student Financial Services and Student Central
Every day, I talk to students about the financial concerns surrounding their education as well as those that affect them off campus and at home. As a community college, we are committed to helping students overcome all barriers to their education.
Helping our students succeed means helping them achieve and maintain a healthy balance between their education and their work or family lives. It’s not just about financial aid or payment plans, it’s about looking at out students’ lives holistically, and understanding that their basic needs must be met in order for them to succeed academically.
In addition, we’ve developed COVID-19-specific financial support resources and continue to connect at-risk students to our established emergency assistance program in order to secure the support they need to cover their education costs and living expenses no matter the circumstances. As a college, we’ve made a commitment to institutionalize these emergency assistance funds so that we can continue to provide reliable and comprehensive assistance to students for years to come.
“It’s not just about financial aid or payment plans, it’s about looking at our students’ lives holistically, and understanding that their basic needs must be met in order for them to succeed academically.” – Melissa Holster
Our financial aid team begins working with students during their initial enrollment conversations and ensures that they have a full understanding of all of the scholarship programs, grant opportunities, and other need-based support options they have at their disposal before their classes start. Our financial aid counselors also work closely with students to strengthen their financial literacy and set a foundation for life-long financial health.
BHCC is one of the most affordable community colleges in the region. Over 55% of students who apply for financial aid receive sufficient support to pay for a majority of their education without needing to take out personal loans. We continue to identify and create new pathways for support while allocating funds for our students, with an added focus on securing assistance for members of traditionally-underserved communities and undocumented students who would not otherwise receive government funding.
A Commitment to an Affordable Education
Kandley Val, Assistant Dean of Enrollment
Ensuring that everyone can afford a quality education is a guiding principle at Roxbury Community College (RCC). In addition to promoting our students’ success during their time on campus, our financial aid, transfer, and academic counselors work cohesively to help students achieve life-long success by identifying pathways that will eliminate the prospect of student debt.
Student debt can be prohibitive to an individual’s current and ongoing success. Debt and other financial strains may prevent students from completing their coursework or continuing with their education. Unfortunately, the burdens of student debt also have the potential to follow an individual for a lifetime, jeopardizing not only their financial health, but their long-term academic, professional, and personal success. At RCC, our mission is to ensure that all of our students can graduate with an associate degree or certificate with as little student debt as possible – preferably none.
Fortunately, residents of Greater Boston and students who are eligible for Pell grants can generally avoid or significantly lower their student debt when they enroll at a community college. RCC supports options like the Mayor’s Free Tuition program, the Mass Transfer program, and the Commonwealth Commitment, which help ensure that community college students have ample financial coverage for their studies. In an added effort to support affordable and equitable education pathways, RCC chooses not to participate in any loan programs.
Oftentimes, students are not privy to the full extent of their financial aid and support options until their initial conversations with our admissions and enrollment teams. This is why our financial aid and guidance staff members prioritize transparent and consistent communication with students from their initial meetings throughout the duration of their time at RCC. We are passionate about informing students about all of their state grant, scholarship, and other merit or need-based support options – particularly those that can prevent them from taking out personal loans and accruing student debt.
“At RCC, our mission is to ensure that all of our students can graduate with an associate degree or a certificate with as little student debt as possible – preferably none.” – Kandley Val
At RCC, we are committed to helping our students overcome all barriers to their education by focusing on their educational, practical, and personal support needs. In addition to our grant and scholarship opportunities, we offer holistic support and individualized assistance for non-academic financial obligations through our Project Access Office. All of these services are offered to students free of charge, and directly address and alleviate concerns regarding transportation, housing, food security, child care, and personal health and wellness costs. We remain passionate about doing all we can to promote our student’s wellbeing and success both on campus and at home.
