December 31, 2019
Central Mass. college enrollment grew 9% over decade
Photo | Grant Welker
Worcester Polytechnic Institute's campus in Worcester
By Grant Welker
When it comes to enrollment, it was a good decade to be Worcester Polytechnic Institute and MCPHS University. Both Worcester schools saw enrollment jump during the 2010s, leading the region in growth.
WPI, which has the largest enrollment of any college in Central Massachusetts, saw its student body grow from 4,002 in the fall of 2010 to 5,371 in the fall of 2018, the latest year for which information is available through the Worcester Business Journal's research department.
That increase of 1,369 was the largest by number of students, but MCPHS, a Boston-based college that started with a small outpost in Worcester, grew far larger as a percentage of its size. MCPHS more than doubled over the decade to 1,490 students.
[Related: Mass. college enrollment declines 1.3%]
In all, college enrollment in Central Massachusetts grew 9% over the decade.
Double-digit growth was also seen at Fitchburg State University (25%), Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University in Grafton (17%), Worcester State University (14%), Dean College in Franklin (14%), and UMass Medical School in Worcester (11%).
Other schools had slower growth rates: Framingham State University (9%), College of the Holy Cross in Worcester (8%), Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester (6%), Becker College in Worcester (5%), and Clark University (1%).
[Related: What to expect in 2020: Colleges & universities will change with the times]
Four schools experienced enrollment drops: Anna Maria College in Paxton (22%), Nichols College in Dudley (21%), Mount Wachusett Community College in Gardner (15%), and Assumption College in Worcester (5%).
Two other schools closed entirely: Atlantic Union College in Lancaster, which stopped offering courses after the spring of 2018 semester, and Salter College, which had an outpost in West Boylston. Salter was ordered to close and pay more than $1.6 million in debt relief to resolve allegations it misled students about student lending, program job placement and graduation rates in an agreement it reached in July with Attorney General Maura Healey’s office.
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Nichols College
January 6, 2020
While we are encouraged to see the overall gains in enrollment for Central Massachusetts colleges, we are compelled to provide a proper context for the comparison data on Nichols College, as enrollment data can be represented in several ways.
The reported fall 2010 enrollment figure of 1,700 represents an estimated total headcount, encompassing full-time and part-time undergraduate and graduate students. The reported fall 2018 total enrollment of 1,349 represents full-time equivalent, calculated by adding the total number of full-time students to one third the total number of part-time students. To provide a more accurate picture, we offer a comparison of the same data types for the same period: Nichols College recorded total headcounts of 1,700 in fall 2010 and 1,580 in fall 2018, indicating an enrollment drop of about 7% – not 21% as reported in the chart; FTE data of 1,315 (fall 2010) and 1,349 (fall 2018) actually show enrollment growth of nearly 3%. In addition, Nichols College undergraduate enrollment has risen 4% (headcount) and 9% (FTE) during that time, an accomplishment for a particularly challenging period in higher education.
With so many decisions driven by data, including college selection, it’s important for prospective students and their families to understand the nuances in the numbers to ensure an accurate comparison. We appreciate this opportunity to present ours.
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