State education leader urges prompt decision by Becker

Photo | Grant Welker Becker College's Cedar Hall in Worcester

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By State House News Service

With the future of Becker College still unclear, state higher education officials say they want to make sure students will have options available to them.

The options, Higher Education Commissioner Carlos Santiago suggested Tuesday, could include pathways involving other private and public schools. Santiago and other state education officials testified Tuesday before legislative budget-writers.

Ways and Means Committee member Sen. Anne Gobi, a Spencer Democrat who co-chairs the Higher Education Committee, asked Santiago about the potential closure of Becker College, which she said is the subject of "a lot of concern, especially from people in the Worcester and Leicester communities, for the students, for the staff, and for the ancillary staff that are involved."

The Department of Higher Education warned on March 2 that Becker, which has campuses in Worcester and Leicester, is facing a precarious enough financial situation that the 1,700-student private college "is unlikely to sustain full operations through the next academic year."

"I think Becker College needs to make a decision as to if it is going to close, when it's going to close," Santiago said Tuesday. "That is absolutely imperative. Students need to know."

Santiago said the department is working with Becker officials to develop contingency plans for students in case of a closure.

"From our perspective, students should have the option of multiple options to move within their major to other institutions to complete either an associate's degree or a baccalaureate degree, and we are doing everything possible to facilitate that," he said. "There are partners, we do indicate that we want these students to have choices. It does include choices in their general geographic area, in the communities in which they reside. We're pleased to say both private and public institutions have stepped up to facilitate that process."

Becker President Nancy Crimmin told students the school is moving ahead with its planned May 8 graduation ceremony but was also making contingency plans for a potential closure by exploring how best to help students transfer to other schools if needed.

"As trying as this time is, I urge you not to engage in rumor or speculation," Crimmin wrote in a letter to students on Friday, one of a series of messages to the college community in recent days. "Becker has been, and always will be, a close-knit community — and it is vital for us to be compassionate, caring, and supportive of one another."