Education

Marijuana has been a part of college campuses for dozens of years, but the drug is now finding its way into the classroom, as Central Massachusetts educators are opening their doors to the cannabis industry.

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.

Four groups have submitted initial proposals to open new charter schools and three other existing charter schools requested to expand their enrollment.

A small for-profit technical college with a West Boylston campus will 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. 

With a grant from the Worcester County District Attorney’s office, Worcester’s Becker College is developing a video game to help fight drug addiction. 

Two Worcester colleges have been ranked in the top 10 value colleges in the state by a financial advising website. 

Mount Wachusett Community College is adding a mathematics associate degree for the first time this fall.

Atlantic Union College, with no future uses in sight for the 135-acre property in Lancaster, has begun selling off properties, beginning with a $610,000 sale of a two-acre parcel. 

A new interactive tool allows users to compare spending and demographic information for schools across Massachusetts, data points that the business group behind the resource hopes will help inform the development of a school funding reform bill.

Even as standardized tests try to regain some of their lost luster, nearly all Central Massachusetts colleges have found more holistic ways to assess applicants’ potential and aren’t looking back.