Have you heard about the Commonwealth Commitment?
NSCC is a state leader in student enrollment in The Commonwealth Commitment, an innovative college affordability and completion plan by MA DHE to help more students achieve the dream of a college degree. The plan commits every public campus to providing 10% rebates at the end of each successfully completed semester to qualifying undergraduate students.
Eligible students should be able to realize an average savings of $5,090 off the cost of obtaining a baccalaureate degree. Students begin their studies at one of the state's 15 community colleges, must attend full-time and maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0. After earning an associate degree in two and a half years or less, students will transfer to a state university or UMass campus to earn a baccalaureate degree.
NSCC had 12 students in the first com/com cohort in 2016, the only cohort that has completed, and 9 graduated within the 2.5 years –a grad rate of 75%. Additionally, the fall to spring retention rate of these students is 100%, compared to 85% of students not in the Commonwealth Commitment program.
And the program is saving our students considerable money while providing access.
NSCC has rebated 131 students almost $80,000 since 2016. In addition to the rebate
from NSCC, students are locking in the costs of college at the four-year at the rate
it was when they started at NSCC, thus the additional long term potential for savings
is even greater.