Program areas at PHENOM
PHENOM Campus Chapter Initiative- In partnership with the Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA) PHENOM provides stipends to MTA members and student organizers to build PHENOM Campus Chapters on several Public College Campuses across the state. These chapters engage the campus community in advocating for accessible, affordable, and well-funded public higher education through involvement in statewide and campus-based education, organizing, and advocacy.
Throughout the year, PHENOM focused public attention on the student debt crisis and the need to alleviate the financial and macroeconomic burdens of student loan debt. This involved promoting and producing research, dissemination of data and other collected information, holding discussions with public higher education students, organizing students to share their stories, and developing relationships with other organizations in Massachusetts using traditional media and social media.
PHENOM continued to build public support for better funded, more affordable and more accessible public higher education on and around public campuses across the state. This involved lectures, presentations to classes, meetings with campus and community organizations, letter-writing campaigns.
PHENOM organized and hosted monthly information meetings at the State House for advocates of public higher education. At these meetings, groups representing college administrations, faculty and staff, students, and others shared information, developed common perspectives around issues affecting the respective constituencies, and coordinated public relations strategies.