Bunker Hill Community College is one of the participants in Massachusetts' early college program.Boston Globe If there were a low-cost public education intervention that increased college completion rates for disadvantaged students â say, a policy that provided a return on investment of $15 for each dollar spent â wouldnât it be a no-brainer to fully embrace it? Such a policy exists in Massachusetts, albeit in embryonic form. Itâs early college high schools, the partnership between high schools and local higher education institutions that allows 11th- and 12th-graders â typically low-income, Black, and Latino students â to take free college courses and help them transition into college. The concept has been around for a few years, but it has now evolved into a state-funded, certified program that includes nearly 40 high schools and 19 colleges and universities serving almost 2,900 students as of last fall.