Press Statement  Commissioner of Higher Education Noe Ortega to Step Down in September

BOSTON — Massachusetts Commissioner of Higher Education Noe Ortega announced today that he will step down from his role this September. Ortega was sworn in as commissioner on November 1, 2022, and brought a commitment to high quality and equitable college access and student success. During his tenure at the state's Department of Higher Education (DHE), Massachusetts saw the implementation of free community college, financial aid expansion, public higher education enrollment growth, increased investments in student success programming, and an emphasis on innovation to meet evolving student needs.  
 
Ortega is stepping down so that he and his wife can be closer to aging family members. 
 
The Board of Higher Education (BHE) will meet shortly to recommend an interim commissioner and begin the discussion and processes to secure the next permanent commissioner. 
 
“Commissioner Ortega has been instrumental over the past four years as we’ve moved the Board’s work forward, and with it, crafted a path for how to grow the impact and success of public higher education in Massachusetts,” said BHE Chair Chris Gabrieli. “I want to thank Commissioner Ortega for both having an immediate impact on college access and advancing long-term efforts toward a higher education system that is innovative, accessible and equitable.”  
 
“In the time that I've gotten to know Commissioner Ortega, his dedication to college access and student success has been clear, and I've seen how he brings that commitment into every part of his work,” said Secretary of Education Steve Zrike. “Commissioner Ortega’s dedication is also reflected throughout the agency and his senior leadership team, and I look forward to continuing to partner with these colleagues and keep opening doors for more learners.” 
 
“Serving Massachusetts has been one of the most meaningful and rewarding roles in my career,” said Ortega. “I am forever grateful to Governor Healey and her administration, Chair Gabrieli, the staff at DHE, legislators, and higher education leaders throughout the Commonwealth for welcoming me and being a driving force on behalf of students. Our collective understanding of higher education’s value for individuals, families, communities, and our workforce has allowed Massachusetts to make history in opening doors for more students. I have every confidence that the momentum toward making college possible for more learners will continue at full speed.”  
 
Ortega joined DHE following the passage of Massachusetts’ Fair Share Amendment, which dedicated additional funds to public education and transportation. These funds fueled historic new state financial aid programs for which Ortega led implementation. Increased financial aid investments led to:  

• A more than doubling of state spending on financial aid programs. Such programs were funded at $186 million in the Fiscal Year 2023 budget and are funded at $413 million in the Fiscal Year 2027 budget; 
• Governor Healey’s MassReconnect program, which launched in fall 2023 and made community college free for students ages 25 and older;
• The expansion of MASSGrant Plus in fall 2023, which made public two- and four-year colleges and universities tuition and fee free for Pell Grant-eligible students along with a $1,200 allowance for books and supplies; 
• Universal free community college regardless of age or income level, which was passed through the state budget in 2024;  
• The return of public higher education enrollment to pre-pandemic levels, driven by community college enrollment growth, which increased 38.5 percent between fall 2022 and fall 2025.  
• Building on prior investments in the Community College SUCCESS program, which includes wraparound services like mentoring and academic support, SUCCESS was expanded to fund programming across the nine state universities starting in the Fiscal Year 2025 budget, and starting in the Fiscal Year 2027 budget, SUCCESS is extended to University of Massachusetts campuses. Across the public higher education system, the FY27 budget funds $38 million in SUCCESS funding to help students complete their degrees.  

Along with the growth of financial aid and student success programming, Ortega’s leadership included the launch of a grant-funded, first-of-its-kind in the nation Innovation Hub at DHE to pilot promising college access and student success approaches across the state’s public higher education system. In doing so, the agency welcomed its inaugural Chief Innovation Officer in March 2026. The Innovation Hub’s first initiative has been a partnership with UMass Lowell to grow paid co-operative education (co-ops) throughout the public higher education system in Massachusetts.