May 2001 University Reporter

Recent coverage of UMass Boston by the Boston Globe included an August 5 “Campus Insider” column by education reporter Patrick Healey that seemed to be based on incomplete information about several university programs. Kathleen Teehan, associate chancellor of enrollment and communications, responded to Healey in an e-mail to the Globe. Here is an abridged version of her response:

Dear Mr. Healy:

Sometimes it seems to us at UMass Boston that misconceptions about our academic quality are invited by our very status as a public university often enrolling non-traditional students. Unfortunately, your higher education column in the Boston Globe of August 5 reflects some of these all-too-common misconceptions. I hope that this e-mail will not only add to your store of correct information but will also persuade you to adopt a more complete and favorable view of our university.

The Commonwealth College status you spoke of, which we expect to be awarded by the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education, is for our Honors Program…. The program will be awarded Commonwealth College status because we applied for it…and because we have met all of the board’s requirements for institutional support, selectivity, academic rigor, and an overall honors-level educational experience. I understand that two other campuses are being considered for this status; UMass Dartmouth has not yet applied….

Just as with the UMass Boston student body as a whole, our honors students come from a variety of ethnic, family, and educational backgrounds…. Some [UMass Boston students] are low-income, working-class, and non-traditional, while others are middle-class, young, and directly out of high school…. Approximately 45%…receive some form of financial aid. That information suggests that we serve a strong complement of low-income students, but that we also serve many middle- and upper-income students….

UMass Boston applies the same minimum admission standards to undergraduate applicants as does the rest of the University of Massachusetts system…. Our average combined SAT score for freshmen in fall 2000 is 1046, and average high school GPA is 2.88. These figures are quite comparable to those for the other UMass regional campuses at Dartmouth and Lowell. We admit 62% of freshman applicants….

You spoke of “remedial, high-school-level courses.” You should know that all our new freshmen go through a placement testing process…. Some of them still need developmental work with math and English skills after they enter the university…. For these students, UMass Boston offers two remedial courses, one in mathematics and one in English…. Students who are assigned to them must complete them in addition to normal requirements. In fall 2000, of the 2,262 new students who enrolled at UMass Boston, 127 took a developmental math course and 25 took English Fundamentals…. UMass Amherst, UMass Dartmouth, and UMass Lowell also require some freshmen to take similar courses. In each of those cases, the total of enrollments in remedial courses was higher than ours.

One final clarification I have to offer you is in reference to our “On the Spot” admissions program. This program represents no change or loophole in our admission standards; it is in fact an additional service. Through it applicants can go over their credentials with an admissions counselor who will offer them admission if they are eligible but will also advise them, if they are not, about what they might do to qualify for admission in the future. “On the Spot” does not guarantee admission, it just offers a personal approach and guidance to students interested in UMass Boston. But in light of your perception of “On the Spot” and similar perceptions we have gathered in focus groups, we have decided not to promote the service publicly through the media, but to limit it to a smaller group of prospective students who have already inquired about our campus.

I would be pleased to provide you with further information at any time to help you and our publics understand the uniqueness of UMass Boston.

Kathleen Teehan
Associate Chancellor
UMass Boston

UMass Boston Responds to The Boston Globe