November 2001 University Reporter

By Leigh DuPuy

The Honors Program at UMass Boston is celebrating. Not only did the program win a unprecedented $14,000 grant from the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education (BHE) to renovate new space in the Healey Library, but two honors students won Fulbright Fellowships in the 1998-1999 academic year, the first awards of their kind in the university’s history. To cap two years of exciting new developments, on October 2 the BHE awarded the program Commonwealth Honors status in recognition of its excellence.

The external review committee which interviewed UMass Boston students, faculty, and administration praised the university for “a thriving and successful honors program characterized by phenomenal course offerings unique to the program, a dedicated and supportive faculty working to create new educational opportunity for students, [and] a diverse, talented and energetic group of students.” The Commonwealth Honors status is considered a kind of accreditation and benchmark for programs throughout the public system. “It is a tribute to our program to be among the first to be awarded this status,” said Monica McAlpine, program director.

UMass Boston underwent a rigorous, multilevel application process to qualify, including submitting a comprehensive self-study and undergoing two levels of external reviews. The Honors Program had to meet a set of eight criteria to achieve Commonwealth Honors status, including evaluations of its mission, admissions policy, organization and administration, transfer criteria, curriculum and review process, program resources, and graduation criteria. The Commonwealth College Executive Committee, composed of 29 members from public higher institutions in Massachusetts, was very impressed by the increase of honor student enrollments, a mission that emphasizes “access” and “excellence,” and the administrators of the program.

This is the first year honors programs were invited to submit applications for Commonwealth status. The university is one of six public higher education institutions to qualify for the classification, along with Bridgewater State College, Fitchburg State College, Worcester State College, Mount Wachusett Community College, and Springfield Technical Community College.
BHE’s goal has been to create an integrated network of Commonwealth honors programs throughout the public higher education system in Massachusetts, the first in the nation to have such a network. The initiative first began in 1997, when the BHE established Commonwealth College, a freestanding honors college of distinction located at UMass Amherst. For those granted Commonwealth status, the Commonwealth College Executive Committee will be systematically reviewing the program every six years, and these reports will be forwarded to the BHE for evaluation.

The new status will mean a number of things for the university. “It helps our students when we can include it in letters of recommendations for fellowships and it helps the program when we apply for grants. It helps attract students to UMass Boston,” explains McAlpine.

It also provides the program with a distinction it hadn’t been able to claim before. The National Collegiate Honors Council advises state programs to follow basic characteristics, but does not award official accreditation. The BHE recognized the Honors Program’s fulfillment of the organization’s guidelines and commented, “We would like to note that the UMass Boston Honors Program conforms particularly well to the ‘Basic Characteristic of a Fully-Developed Honors Program’ as developed by the National Collegiate Honors Council.”

The Honors Program at UMass Boston is university-wide and consists of honors-level courses, colloquia, senior projects, and academic support. Currently, there are more than 160 students enrolled, and the program expects to grow to 225 by 2005. The program has its largest graduating class to date, with over 30 seniors expected to earn their undergraduate degrees this year. Candidates applying for admission include full and part-time students who are first-time freshman or continuing and transfer students.

McAlpine is also a member of the council and is excited about the work being done. “It strengthens honors programs throughout the system,” she says. “It is a real tribute to the support the Honors Program receives at UMass Boston that we earned this distinction.”

BHE Awards Honors Program With Commonwealth Honors Status