Mount Wachusett opens doors to displaced Mount Ida vet tech students

Photo/Grant Welker Mount Wachusett Community College in Gardner is opening its doors to displaced Mount Ida College students.

Write a Comment

By Grant Welker

Mount Wachusett Community College is starting an initiative to attract veterinary technician students at Mount Ida College, who will be displaced when the private Newton college closes at the end of the semester.

Mount Ida students who enroll at Mount Wachusett can begin taking classes this summer, the community college said Monday. Both schools have associate degree programs for veterinary technicians.

Mount Wachusett started its veterinary technician program just this semester, and has 19 students enrolled.

Mount Wachusett said its program can be completed at less than $10,000 a year. Mount Ida tuition for the current school year is $35,720.

Separately, Mount Ida said on Monday that Becker College will be on campus on April 13 to meet with students interested in its veterinary technician program and other programs including video game design.

Mount Ida, a small college in Newton, is being bought by UMass Amherst and will close following the spring semester. Its students are guaranteed a spot at UMass Dartmouth, which has the capacity to take the students in.

Mount Ida's veterinary technician program is one of a small group of offerings that aren't available at UMass Dartmouth, along with dental hygiene, interior design and funeral studies.