Public Statement: Admission Bias Against Massachusetts Residents
Freshman admission to the University of Massachusetts’ flagship Amherst campus is more competitive for the Commonwealth’s students than for out-of-state applicants, as reported in Pioneer Institute’s study, “Differentiating Admissions Standards at UMass-Amherst to Meet Out-of-State Enrollment Targets.”
For instance, in the fall of 2016, the average combined SAT scores of accepted, in-state, first-time degree-seeking Massachusetts students were 23 points higher than the average of similar students accepted from out-of-state. The numbers imply that Massachusetts residents are held to a higher admissions standard. The pattern of accepting out-of-state students with lesser academic credentials than in-state students has been consistent since at least 2010, with respect to both combined SAT scores and high school grade point averages.
Solutions
There are solutions to the perverse outcome of current UMass admission policies. One example is the University of California. The UC system had been on course similar to UMass when a state audit found the University had lowered its standards for non-resident admissions. In response to public outrage sparked by the audit, University officials committed to only accepting out-of-state students with higher academic qualifications than the average of accepted in-state students. Under the new practice, accepted out-of-state students at the flagship Berkeley campus in the fall of 2017 far out-performed in-state accepted students, scoring on average 115 points higher on the combined SAT. The average GPA of accepted non-resident students was also higher than their in-state counterparts.
North Carolina provides another instructive example. To curb growing out-of-state enrollment, in 1986 the University of North Carolina capped the number of out-of-state students at 18 percent of total enrollment. In 2016, UNC’s flagship campus at Chapel Hill was fined $1 million for exceeding its non-resident enrollment cap for the second consecutive year, with 19.5 percent of enrollees coming from out-of-state.
Massachusetts can address troubling UMass admissions trend and end the potential harm to Massachusetts students and residents. The issue is not whether to welcome talented out-of-state or international students; the Commonwealth should strive to bring in young talent with the hope that they will one day make their homes here and contribute to growing the state economy. The issue is that since Massachusetts taxpayers are subsidizing the UMass system — and such subsidies have grown from $519 million (2013) to $721 million (2017) in just the past four years — Massachusetts students should not be penalized for growing up here.
Related Posts
https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/nathan-dumlao-ewGMqs2tmJI-unsplash.jpg
4480
6720
Paige Anderson
https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_440x96.png
Paige Anderson2019-07-15 09:51:102019-07-16 08:37:58The Chancellor at this University Makes about 18.5 Times what an Average Employee at this Same University Makes… 
https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/bill-oxford-udXD2NrbXS8-unsplash.jpg
5304
7952
Paige Anderson
https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_440x96.png
Paige Anderson2019-07-15 09:37:312019-07-16 08:18:50Did Justice Prevail? Questions Surrounding Correctional Officers and Budgetary Allocation within the Suffolk County Sheriff Department and Others
https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/mathieu-turle-uJm-hfuCHm4-unsplash.jpg
3456
5184
Ana Rijal
https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_440x96.png
Ana Rijal2019-07-08 15:05:232019-07-16 15:16:23MassOpenBooks: A Look at the Top Departments by Average Overtime Pay in 2018
https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/schoolfunding.jpg
487
730
Editorial Staff
https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_440x96.png
Editorial Staff2019-07-02 09:00:242019-07-02 16:40:35Study Calls for Tying Additional State Education Aid to Reforms
https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/financial-crisis-544944_1920.jpg
1357
1920
Cole Kroninger
https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_440x96.png
Cole Kroninger2019-07-01 16:04:492019-07-10 16:50:34MassPensions: Highest Reductions in Unfunded Liabilities
https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/scotus.jpg
3968
5996
Editorial Staff
https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_440x96.png
Editorial Staff2019-06-28 11:18:202019-07-17 16:35:25Pioneer Alert: Supreme Court Will Rule on Highly Significant School Choice Case
https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/NBVT.jpg
783
1294
Tom Birmingham
https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_440x96.png
Tom Birmingham2019-06-19 09:49:442019-06-20 16:39:48More students, employers need to benefit from voc-tech schools' winning formula
https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/retirement-3585585_1920-1.jpg
1377
1829
Cole Kroninger
https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_440x96.png
Cole Kroninger2019-06-18 16:52:072019-07-16 15:24:15MassPensions: The Leaders and Laggards among Massachusetts Public Pension Systems
https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/empty_seats.jpg
515
775
Editorial Staff
https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_440x96.png
Editorial Staff2019-06-05 11:05:112019-07-17 15:56:55Study Finds Student Growth Percentile Is Unreliable, Limits Access to Charter Public Schools
https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/AlmaScreen.png
880
1584
Editorial Staff
https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_440x96.png
Editorial Staff2019-06-03 15:21:272019-07-17 15:56:56Pioneer Public Statement on Legislative Demise of New Bedford Charter School Deal
https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/BGPike.jpg
598
960
Mary Connaughton
https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_440x96.png
Mary Connaughton2019-05-31 08:36:342019-05-31 08:36:34The Mass. Pike is in for some massive disruption. Are we ready?
https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/Umass-Boston-large.jpg
852
1136
Editorial Staff
https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_440x96.png
Editorial Staff2019-05-30 16:27:092019-05-30 16:30:17Pioneer Institute Public Statement on UMass Financial Oversight
https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/UMB.jpg
400
760
Editorial Staff
https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_440x96.png
Editorial Staff2019-05-28 19:00:192019-05-30 10:20:55Study Finds UMass Leadership – Not Campus Administrators – Bears Primary Responsibility for UMass Boston Budget Woes
https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/will2.0.jpg
1601
1908
Editorial Staff
https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_440x96.png
Editorial Staff2019-05-23 11:19:532019-05-23 11:52:49Nationally Syndicated Columnist George Will Covers Pioneer's SCOTUS Amicus Brief Topic on School Choice
https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/caretakers-e1557953012328.jpg
534
750
Editorial Staff
https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_440x96.png
Editorial Staff2019-05-16 11:00:442019-05-16 11:00:36Public statement on new federal rule eliminating “skimming” of dues from caregivers’ Medicaid payments
https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/Grads-2.jpg
1204
1917
Editorial Staff
https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_440x96.png
Editorial Staff2019-05-09 09:39:222019-05-09 10:15:02A Rational Voice on the State of American Higher Education and the Cost Crisis
https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/Kendra-espinoza-2.jpg
984
2154
Editorial Staff
https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_440x96.png
Editorial Staff2019-04-29 09:40:192019-07-19 08:03:42Pioneer Institute Files Amicus Brief Urging Supreme Court to Hear School Choice Case
https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/collegeclose.png
803
1200
Editorial Staff
https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_440x96.png
Editorial Staff2019-04-16 21:00:592019-04-17 09:02:21New Study Urges State to Slow Down, Rethink Proposal to Protect Students from College Closings
