The University of Massachusetts system is planning to triple enrollment in early college programs for high school students, UMass President Marty Meehan said in a State of the University address posted Tuesday.
“Within the next five years, we plan to expand our early college initiatives to serve more than 2,000 high school students and broaden our early college reach to more rural areas of the state,” said Meehan in the video update.
Since last fall, UMass Lowell and UMass Dartmouth partnered with 11 high schools in Massachusetts — two-thirds of which are in Gateway Cities, Meenhan said — to offer 30 college-level courses at the schools. The “Commonwealth Collegiate Academy” program started with 400 students and increased to about 600 in the spring.
In the fall, Meehan said, the program will add new high schools and bring in faculty from UMass Amherst, to start the broader expansion.
UMass Boston also partners with the City of Boston in their own early college program, Meehan said, allowing BPS high schoolers to earn up to 30 college credits.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announced another early college expansion in partnership with UMass Boston in January, with the planned transformation of the BCLA-McCormack High School into the city’s first University-Assisted Community Hub School.
Meehan cited the early success of the programs, noting over 50 students from the Commonwealth Collegiate Academy were accepted into UMass Lowell or UMass Dartmouth this fall. In the fall semester of the Collegiate Academy, he said, students earned “nearly 1,000 free credits that will help them lower the cost of college.”
This spring semester, students are projected to earn 1,736 credits from UMass Dartmouth and Lowell, the university said.
The UMass early college programs are funded through state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and Smith Family Foundation.
“Students who participate in early college are more likely than their peers to attend college, to complete their degree and to realize an increase in the lifetime earning potential,” said Meehan, citing national data from the American Institutes for Research.
Data from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Meehan added, show students of color who are in early college programs are 20-30% more likely to enroll in a four year degree program.
“UMass is demonstrating our deep enduring and mission-driven commitment to accessibility and affordability,” Meehan said. “And in doing so we are ensuring that the greatest tool for social and economic mobility, a four year college degree, remains achievable for students from all backgrounds in Massachusetts.”