PHENOM (Public Higher Education Network of Massachusetts)

11/26/2025

Why should you help us pass the Adjunct Pilot Program? Because adjunct faculty deserve better. These professors play an essential role in Massachusetts’ education system (over 70 percent of community college professors are adjuncts!) yet they face dismal working conditions: paltry pay, no healthcare and retirement coverage, and little to no job security, to name just a few.

Now is the time to make a change.

The MA legislature is voting on a bill called the Adjunct Pilot Program which, if passed, would test out several key improvements to adjunct professors’ working conditions. Namely: healthcare, promotion opportunities, and improved resources like office space.

But we need citizens like you to convince politicians this matters.

So don’t wait: use the letter campaign (link in bio 👀) to urge your legislators to support the Adjunct Pilot Program and give Massachusetts’ vital adjuncts the dignity they deserve!

External Sources:

1. https://phenomonline.org/adjunct-faculty-bill-of-rights/
2. https://www.communitycollegereview.com/blog/study-finds-massachusetts-community-colleges-reliance-on-adjunct-faculty-problematic
3. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED532273
4.https://pullias.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Delphi-Project_Report-on-Working-Meeting_Web-Version.pdf

07/15/2025

We need YOUR help to reach the Massachusetts legislature on free college this Friday at the Joint Committee on Higher Education bill hearing.

Help us make student debt a thing of the past. Share your story at this link:

https://actionnetwork.org/forms/written-testimony-for-july-18th-hearing?clear_id=true

03/26/2024

This budget season, we are asking the legislature to fund public higher ed for a debt free future. Share your support by reposting!

03/26/2024

This budget season, we are asking the legislature to fund public higher ed. Share your support by reposting!

02/15/2024

Show your 💙 for high-quality, debt-free public higher ed by sharing this post on Valentine's Day.

11/14/2023

Join us to protest for a fair endowment tax! PHENOM will be rallying in Amherst Town Commons Friday November 17th, 12pm, in support of a bill to tax private endowments, and fund public education. Come support!

12/12/2022

We're hiring a new Executive Director!

We have an ambitious timeline for recruiting a new director– the ideal candidate will start early into 2023. We are accepting rolling applications through the new year, with priority consideration given to applications received by Dec. 20, 2022.

To apply, please send a cover letter, resume and names/contact information of 3 references to [email protected]. We will only accept applications electronically.

PHENOM is an equal opportunity employer. All persons regardless of age, race, ethnicity, gender, s*x, religious affiliation, or s*xual orientation are encouraged to apply. Women, people of color, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ people are strongly encouraged to apply.

Visit the post for more.

04/25/2022

After a successful 50-man strong rally held by , the state legislature reacted with annoyance, but moved the DFF Act to research. This cements in our minds that direct action is the best way to go. We want to return to Boston and demonstrate an even larger body of support for putting an end to student debt and making higher education a human right. Join us on May 16th outside the MA Statehouse at 4 PM.

Register to join us here:
https://forms.gle/KL4tAz7WYPqe6n6G8

04/14/2022

We're on a statewide call and WOW the problem is huge!

These folks are showing us that when state investment declines, our public campuses become businesses. The colleges are making up for the dramatic drop in state $$ by charging higher tuition and taking our institutional loans. One of the worst parts–students in our public system are forced to take on student debt to pay off their campuses' debts!

"This is a problem affecting students- affecting me!" -Framingham State student

03/09/2022

03/09/2022

Some images from the DFF rally held today at UMass Amherst!

02/23/2022

Today, we're going to be talking about how to talk to your legislators! To pass the Debt Free Future Act, we need to get our legislators on board, and we do that by meeting with them in small groups. Here is an overview of the most effective way to organize these small groups to get the best out of the meeting!