By Emily Rosenberg
Editor-in-Chief
[Editor's Note: The version of this article included a mistake in the headline and second paragraph that stated FSU was allocated $22 million from MassGrant Plus. The current article has been corrected.]
Governor Maura Healey announced a $62 million expansion to MASSGrant Plus on Nov. 16, the largest Massachusetts financial aid program in recent history.
Framingham State received $2.2 million of this aid, which will be applied to students’ fall and spring semester bills for the 2023-24 academic year. The aid is intended to help students with tuition, fees, and supplies.
It is retroactive, so therefore, students may receive a refund for their fall bills, and if they have an outstanding balance, it will be first applied to their balance.
The expansion was made possible by funding from the Fair Share Amendment, which taxes Massachusetts residents who make more than $1 million an additional 4% on their income and allocates the taxes specifically to education and transportation.
The legislature allocated $84 million to the MASSGrant financial aid expansion in its FY 24 budget. Therefore, there is an additional $22 million that may be allocated later in the fiscal year and a possibility that students may benefit from another round of awards.
Director of Financial Aid Caitlin Laurie said the office is “running queries” to identify eligible students based on the new guidelines and “automatically awarding the funds to those who qualify.”
She added, “Awarding is currently underway and we are working as quickly as possible.”
Laurie said the awarding will continue to occur over the next few weeks. Once the Office has determined their eligibility, students will be emailed with their revised financial aid letter notifying them.
Grants are automatically accepted, but if a student would like to reduce their loan borrowing after they receive additional grant aid, they may do so by emailing Financial Aid, Laurie added.
According to the press release published by Healey’s office on Nov. 15, the aid will be distributed to Pell Grant-eligible students. The expansion will cover the full cost of tuition and fees for Pell Grant-eligible students, not including room and board.
In addition, middle-income students - defined as those whose families earn between $73,000 and $100,000, will have their costs for tuition and mandatory instructional fees reduced by up to half of their out-of-pocket expenses.
Students are encouraged to complete the FAFSA so the Financial Aid Office can process their information and determine if they are eligible for this aid, Laurie said.
Eighty-nine percent of FSU students currently receive financial aid.
Laurie said the Financial Aid Office has already awarded 300 students with the additional aid and they are “nowhere near done.”