Dean College

Since 2020, more than half of Central Massachusetts’ colleges and universities have seen a transition in top leadership, with eight presidents leaving or announcing their departure in the last two years.

Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Clark University in Worcester were ranked #63 and #103 in the U.S. News & World Report’s annual college rankings, released Monday.

Colleges in Central Massachusetts are due to receive an estimated $100 million among them under the latest federal pandemic aid program.

Parents of students at MCPHS University and Worcester Polytechnic Institute take out the most loans to pay for their children's education in Central Massachusetts, according to newly released federal data.

The U.S. News & World Report's annual college rankings, which are closely watched in the industry and among prospective students and their families, were less kind this year to Worcester colleges.

Some freshmen at Worcester Polytechnic Institute will spend the fall living at a hotel just off campus. Clark University and Framingham State University have plans in place to isolate students in their dorms while awaiting coronavirus test results.

Dean College in Franklin has changed plans for the fall semester, electing to hold all classes and activities online for the fall semester as the coronavirus pandemic has worsened across the country over the summer.

An industry-wide spike in the number of applications from high school students has complicated the fine-tuned formula for figuring out which students – and how many – will ultimately enroll.

Colleges with smaller endowments may be getting relatively poorer compared to deep-pocketed peers, but with the economy providing higher investment returns – and more donor support – nearly every Central Massachusetts college has seen endowments grow in the past decade or more.

Anna Maria College in Paxton tops Central Massachusetts colleges when it comes to gender parity, according to a new report weighing how equally women are represented on campuses.