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Higher education is New England’s most critical sustainable resource. The region’s governors knew that in 1955 when they founded the New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE). Today, NEBHE promotes greater education opportunities for the residents of New England. It works across the six New England states to help leaders assess, develop and implement sound education practices and policies of regional significance; to promote regional cooperation and programs that encourage the efficient use and sharing of educational resources; and to strengthen the relationship between higher education and the economic well-being and quality of life in New England.
The New England Board of Higher Education advances equitable postsecondary outcomes through convening, research and programs for students, institution leaders and policymakers.
Our vision is that everyone in New England will have lifelong access to affordable, high-value postsecondary education.
The New England Board of Higher Education Board of Delegates adopted these strategic priorities in March 2023:
NEBHE plays a number of key leadership roles that make it unique in its ability to serve the New England states and to contribute to higher education issues nationally:
NEBHE was founded in 1955, when six visionary New England governors – realizing that the future prosperity of New England rested on higher education – committed their states to the shared pursuit of academic excellence. Soon thereafter, NEBHE was approved by New England’s six state legislatures and authorized by the U.S. Congress.
Much has changed since our founding: New technologies have transformed our workplaces, schools, and homes – and postsecondary education has become a prerequisite to economic prosperity, social mobility, and civic engagement. Yet the importance of higher education to the regional economy remains as critical as ever. New England’s economy and quality of life depend on the quality and diversity of our region’s extraordinary higher education resources.
A sample of NEBHE’s work through the years on behalf of New England’s educators, legislators, policymakers—and students and parents:
The New England Board of Higher Education is established to implement the New England Higher Education Compact, expand educational opportunity and foster cooperation among the region’s colleges and universities.
NEBHE establishes the New England Regional Student Program, enabling New England students to pay a lower tuition rate at out-of-state public land-grant universities within New England if they pursue certain academic programs that are not offered by their home state’s public institutions. The Regional Student Program invited community and technical colleges in 1967 and state colleges in 1972, and later transitioned to the name Tuition Break.
NEBHE creates the Commission on Higher Education and the Economy of New England, comprising college presidents, labor officials, professors, bank executives, publishers and business leaders. It is the first of several NEBHE commissions to hold conferences and release publications on diverse issues such as biotechnology, distance learning, international competitiveness, the legal profession, human capital and higher education retirement plans.
NEBHE begins publishing its quarterly journal, “Connection: New England’s Journal of Higher Education and Economic Development.” In 2007, the journal is rebranded as “The New England Journal of Higher Education,” and in 2010, moves entirely online at www.nebhe.org.
NEBHE creates the New England Technical Education Partnership, bringing together educators and other professionals to improve New England’s two-year technical education programs, which ultimately advances “problem-based learning.”
NEBHE and the John W. McCormack Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Massachusetts Boston (later known as the John W. McCormack School of Policy and Global Studies) conduct The Future of New England survey asking 1,000 New England opinion leaders and 1,000 New England households their views on pressing public policy issues, regional economic prospects and opportunities for interstate action in New England.
NEBHE initiates a series of three conferences addressing key issues and challenges in workforce development, culminating in a policy report titled Building Human Capital: A New England Strategy, which recommends steps to improve science and math teaching in New England schools, expand adult literacy programs and reform community colleges.
NEBHE launches the New England Higher Education Excellence Awards to honor New England individuals and organizations who show exceptional leadership higher education, public policy or the advancement of educational opportunity.
NEBHE launches its College Ready New England initiative to encourage more New England students to prepare for, enroll in and graduate from New England colleges and universities.
NEBHE and the Davis Educational Foundation convene more than 400 academic, philanthropic and education leaders in a series of discussions to explore innovative strategies identified by regional leaders to address cost and affordability issues challenging the region’s institutions and its students. NEBHE then works with the foundation to launch the Higher Education Innovation Challenge.
NEBHE launches the New England component of the national State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement, or SARA, funded by generous grants from the Lumina Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Accredited degree-granting institutions in a SARA state that offer distance education courses can then seek approval from their state to participate in SARA. NEBHE now coordinates SARA for all six New England states, as well as New York and New Jersey.
NEBHE launches the Commission on Higher Education & Employability. Chaired by Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo, the Commission brings together employers and higher education leaders, as well as policy leaders, to ramp up efforts aimed at bolstering the region’s workforce future.
The New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) Commission on Higher Education & Employability released “Learning for Life and Work,” with recommendations to increase the career readiness of graduates of New England colleges and universities and improve their transitions to work. Chaired by Rhode Island Gov. Gina M. Raimondo, the 50-member Commission explored New England employers’ concerns about a lack of qualified, skilled workers, particularly in rapidly changing, technology-intensive and growth-oriented industries.
The Guarantee helps students in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island transfer seamlessly from community college to four-year institutions.
To meet the burgeoning demand for tech talent and keep Connecticut’s workforce competitive, the Tech Talent Accelerator was created to engage the state’s higher education ecosystem, including the Connecticut State Colleges & Universities (CSCU) and independent higher education institutions. Each sector and institution play a critical role in preparing graduates for the workforce, and in reskilling and upskilling current workers. This initiative is leading the development of aligned skills and credential pathways through new or refreshed programs of credentials by postsecondary institutions to meet current and emerging skills needs.
Partnerships in Progress: A Student-Centered Approach to Higher Education in Prison was published by NEBHE and the 83-member New England Commission on the Future of Higher Education in Prison. The report made 15 prison-based and community-based recommendations and was featured in a Boston Globe editorial entitled, “Behind bars, but seeking a better future.”
Nearly 800 community college graduates in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode transferred seamlessly to four-year institutions using the New England Transfer Guarantee in 2023. These students were awarded over $12 million in scholarships and grants and maintained an average cumulative grade point average of 3.66. The Transfer Guarantee was launched in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont with 16 public and independent institutions participating.
NEBHE was awarded its largest grant, $6.7 million, to lead a regional initiative to strengthen, expand and coordinate higher education in the region’s prisons, using the report of the 2023 New England Commission on the Future of Higher Education in Prison as its blueprint and supported by Ascendium Education Group.
9,001 New England students saved more than $65 million on tuition at public colleges and universities in the region where they enrolled in one of 2,700 academic programs at a reduced tuition rate. Tuition Break average savings per student was $8,632 for academic year 23-24.
The New England Transfer Guarantee, now scaled to all six New England states, has reduced barriers to transfer to 52 participating public and private four-year institutions for 1,362 community college graduates.
New England Prison Education Collaborative awarded $500,000 in grants to five New England Higher Education institutions to spur growth of postsecondary education in prison.