Last week, I had the honor of joining lawmakers, community leaders, and higher education colleagues at the State House to discuss one of the most impactful student support initiatives in Massachusetts today, the Supporting Urgent Community College Equity through Student Services (SUCCESS) program. I was proud to represent Greenfield Community College (GCC), where our SUCCESS students are achieving some of the strongest outcomes in the commonwealth.
At GCC, we’ve witnessed firsthand how SUCCESS transforms the student experience. With this funding, we’ve been able to significantly expand our advising center, more than doubling the number of students who have a dedicated advisor or success coach. This means students have a single, trusted contact who reaches out proactively throughout the semester. These staff members go beyond helping students select classes; they build relationships, provide mentorship, and ensure that no student falls through the cracks.
We’ve also created a thriving peer mentor program that connects new and returning students in supportive, empowering ways. We ensure that every new student, especially those from vulnerable populations, is connected with a peer mentor from the start, and that all incoming students learn during orientation about the full range of supports available to them. This holistic, relationship-based approach helps make college less fragmented and more human.
The impact is clear in our data: fall-to-fall retention for SUCCESS students is more than 3% higher than for non-SUCCESS students. For our first-generation learners, graduation rates are nearly 10% higher within the SUCCESS cohort, and Pell-eligible students see a 6.2% increase in graduation rates compared to peers outside the program.
These numbers represent more than statistics. They represent changed lives. They represent students who persist through challenges, who graduate, and who go on to contribute to their families and communities in meaningful ways.
However, sustaining this progress and expanding it statewide requires ongoing commitment. As Massachusetts proudly moves toward expanding access through free college programs, we must recognize an essential truth: enrollment without retention and graduation is not success.
Free tuition removes an important financial barrier, but tuition alone does not guarantee completion. Students, especially those who are the first in their families to attend college, need comprehensive supports to thrive once they’re on campus.
To truly scale SUCCESS across the commonwealth, policymakers should:
- Sustain and institutionalize funding: Make SUCCESS a permanent, formula-driven investment rather than an annual budget item. Reliable funding allows colleges to hire and retain skilled staff and plan for the long term.
- Align SUCCESS with free college: Integrate wraparound supports — advising, mentoring, emergency aid — into the free college framework so these services are not treated as add-ons, but as essential infrastructure.
- Promote equity and flexibility: Allow campuses to tailor SUCCESS to local student needs while holding all institutions accountable for measurable gains in retention and completion.
- Invest in data and continuous improvement: Fund shared data systems and professional development to help colleges identify what works and replicate success statewide.
At Greenfield Community College, we’ve seen how SUCCESS changes outcomes and lives. Continued investment in this initiative is not just a good policy; it’s a moral and economic imperative. When our students succeed, our communities and our commonwealth succeed.
Michelle Schutt, Ph.D., is president of Greenfield Community College.