UMASS-AMHERST Chancellor Robert Holub’s plan to add thousands of higher-paying, out-of-state students to help bolster the university’s bottom line makes good sense, as long as it doesn’t reduce in-state undergraduate enrollment below the current level of 16,000 students. With the state coffers leaking so badly, UMass-Amherst has little choice but to go outside to plug the hole.
The Amherst campus is in an enviable position within the five-campus UMass system, both economically and geographically. The Legislature already has granted it permission to retain both the tuition and fees of out-of-state students, who comprise about 20 percent of undergraduates. Costs, including room and board, for out-of-state students at the campus stand at about $31,500 annually, as opposed to $20,000 for in-state students. UMass-Amherst officials estimate that they could generate $4 million next year by admitting 300 additional out-of-state undergrads. They hope to welcome 3,000 such students to the popular college town over the next decade.
Tom Milligan, executive vice chancellor for university relations, promises that UMass-Amherst will not limit access to in-state students in its quest for higher-paying outsiders. The initiative is only as good as that promise. If in-state enrollment were to drop below, say, 70 percent, the mission of UMass to improve the lives of Massachusetts residents would be in jeopardy.
The initiative could be seen as separating the flagship campus in Amherst even further from the other campuses in the UMass constellation. It even appears at odds with president Jack Wilson’s recent efforts to create a consistent UMass brand that delivers high-quality education regardless of whether a student enrolls in Amherst or Lowell. But UMass-Amherst does demand center stage with the highest concentration of majors and research activities. It can’t be faulted for trying to improve its financial position, especially when state funding for the campus has dropped 16 percent in the last year alone.
Other campuses in the UMass system should be looking at creative ways, as well, to bring in additional funds, whether through sponsored research or fund-raising. Relying on Beacon Hill for help is increasingly fruitless, and rightly so given its many financial challenges. Currently, the state provides just $411 million from the general fund to support a $2.7 billion state university system.
UMass doesn’t need to replicate the offerings or inflated tuition bills of the area’s elite private institutions. Instead, it needs a reliable source of operating funds that allows it to continue serving Massachusetts students, primarily from middle-class families, who find themselves priced out or boxed out elsewhere. An increase in acceptances for out-of-state students should please cost-conscious Massachusetts families, as well.
