11/28/2014
Telegram & Gazette
By Sara Schweiger
As the University of Massachusetts at Lowell has grown over the last several years, so has its presence in Central Massachusetts.
Once a mostly commuter college, it is attracting more students from this region — 206 from Worcester alone last year — and enjoying an increasing number of alliances with area businesses. The university also partners with the University of Massachusetts Medical School in the Massachusetts Medical Device Development Center.
Last year, 1,340 students at UMass Lowell — about 1 in 12 — hailed from Central Massachusetts. Factoring in alumni and college employees, that number rises to 6,392.
In an interview, Chancellor Martin T. Meehan, a former congressman and UMass Lowell alumnus, talked about a campus transformed, college affordability and being named to the transition team of Gov.-elect Charles D. Baker Jr.
"People don't realize we're nationally ranked," Mr. Meehan said of the urban campus about 43 miles from downtown Worcester.
U.S. News and World Report lists UMass Lowell among the top 85 public universities in the U.S. In 2009, it named UMass Lowell a top-tier national university. In the 2015 rankings, the college is one of only six to advance in the standings every year since 2010.
PayScale ranks UMass Lowell 16th of 437 public colleges and universities in the U.S. (and 59th nationally among public and private institutions) for graduates' return on investment, and BusinessInsider.com called UMass Lowell the "Most Underrated College in America."
When Mr. Meehan, 57, took the reins July 1, 2007, the student body was about 75 percent commuter. Now it's about 50 percent, he said, noting that 82 percent of freshman live on campus.
Enrollment is up (from 11,635 total enrollment in 2007 to 16,294 last year), applications have tripled, admission has become more selective, the endowment has doubled, and academic programs and buildings are being added. By way of comparison, Worcester State University has a combined undergraduate and graduate enrollment of 6,447.
UMass Lowell in May broke ground on a $35 million business school.
Additionally, UMass Lowell recently became a NCAA Division I school for sports competition.
"It's right in line with our strategy to attract students outside of Massachusetts," Mr. Meehan said. "Division I athletics enhances our reputation."
But while UMass Lowell's reputation has grown, so, too, has the price tag: Tuition has increased 35 percent under Mr. Meehan.
The rising cost is unwelcome, he said, but when inflation is factored in, the cost of a UMass education has remained stable, if not gone down slightly, he said.
What's changed, he said, is state funding.
"The cuts in higher education have been dramatic," he said. "When I was a student there, the state used to pay about 88 percent of the overall budget. Today it's 24 percent.
"Even the last two years where we've gotten an increase, it only brings us up to where we were in terms of real dollars when Mitt Romney was governor. And that doesn't factor in inflation. Mitt Romney, percentage-wise, funded higher education more significantly than we're funded now."
Currently, in-state tuition and fees are $12,447; out of state, $27,400. Mr. Meehan said he hoped to keep those level for another year.
He also pointed out that while tuition itself is low ($1,454 in state; $8,567 out of state), fees are high, and that muddles people's perceptions.
"It's not transparent. It's not a good way to do business. We're trying to get the Legislature to change that," he said.
Mr. Meehan said Sen. Elizabeth Warren's efforts to win approval to have student loan debt eligible for refinancing is "100 percent right." And he doesn't believe the federal government should make money on student loans.
Much like Worcester, Mr. Meehan said, Lowell has struggled to overcome its image as a less-than-desirable place to be. But he believes that Lowell, like Worcester, has much to offer students and residents alike.
"Lowell has a national park," he said. "If I had my way, everyone who applied would take a national park tour."
Mr. Meehan said UMass Lowell has taken a cue from Clark University and others in terms of neighborhood revitalization.
UMass Lowell in 2009 purchased a struggling downtown hotel (now the UMass Lowell Inn and Conference Center) and, in 2011, bought the stagnant site of a long-closed hospital and built a $95 million student center.
In 2010, the university acquired the struggling Tsongas Arena. Overall under Mr. Meehan, the university has invested more than $100 million into renovations and construction, which in turn has provided the city hundreds of thousands of dollars in new revenues.
Mr. Meehan is serving as education co-chair on Mr. Baker's transition team. Asked what he brings to the table, he said his message would be to get K-12 educators in line with getting students ready for college-level science, technology, engineering and math.
"We see kids from other countries who are better prepared for college STEM than U.S. kids," he said.
"I think the importance of public higher education in this state to the economy is the message we have to get across to leadership. We'll continue to make the argument why it's important to have a world-class UMass (system). I think he (Baker) understands that."