Study: UMass Amherst Admissions Standards Now Higher for MA Students than Non-Residents

Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on
LinkedIn
+

Freshman admission to the University of Massachusetts’ flagship Amherst campus is more competitive for the Commonwealth’s students than for out-of-state applicants, who pay more to attend, according to a new study published by Pioneer Institute.

“The central mission of the University of Massachusetts is to serve the state citizens whose taxes support increased appropriations to the system,” said Mary Connaughton, co-author of “Differentiating Admissions Standards at UMass-Amherst to Meet Out-of-State Enrollment Targets.”  “While the general belief has been that non-resident student help augment intellectual rigor on campus, that benefit is in question if admissions standards, on average, are lower rather than higher for those students.”

UMass admissions standards rose significantly for all students between 2004 and 2017, but especially for applicants from Massachusetts.

Data acquired through a public records request of the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education show that from 2010 to 2016, non-resident students accepted to the Amherst campus had lower high school grade point averages (GPAs) and SAT scores than their in-state counterparts.  For the fall of 2016, in-state accepted student GPA and SAT averages were 3.97 and 1265, respectively, compared to 3.78 and 1242 for those from outside Massachusetts.

In 2014, UMass established a target of one-quarter of undergraduate students on the Amherst campus being from out of state by the fall of 2017.  By the fall of 2016, 26.4 percent of entering freshmen were non-resident students.

UMass isn’t the only state university system dealing with the appeal of attracting higher numbers of non-resident students who pay more to attend.  A state audit that revealed that the average high school GPA of students accepted to the University of California’s flagship Berkeley campus was lower for out-of-state than in-state students.  The university can now accept non-residents if their academic qualifications are higher than the average of accepted resident students.

In 2016, the Board of Governors for the University of North Carolina fined the system’s flagship Chapel Hill campus $1 million after it exceeded an 18 percent cap on out-of-state enrollment two years in a row.

“Providing a high-quality education doesn’t just mean accepting the students with the highest GPAs,” said Pioneer Executive Director Jim Stergios.  “UMass should also strive to educate Massachusetts residents who can’t afford private schools or higher out-of-state costs at other university systems.”

Connaughton and co-authors Rebekah Paxton and Charlotte Emslie recommend that state policy makers consider a non-resident enrollment cap like those in place in California and North Carolina.  They also urge UMass to conduct an analysis to determine how many non-resident students ultimately make Massachusetts their permanent home.

“If out-of-state graduates stay here in large numbers to expand the economy and fill jobs in areas where labor shortages exist, the university’s current policy may yield benefits,” Connaughton said.  “In any case, the state taxpayers who subsidize UMass should be informed about the return on their investment.”

About the Authors

Mary Connaughton is the Director of Government Transparency at Pioneer Institute.

Rebekah Paxton is a senior at Boston University. She will graduate in May 2018 with a Master of Arts in Political Science and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Economics. She started at Pioneer as a Roger Perry Government Transparency intern at Pioneer focusing on economics and higher education policy research.

Charlotte Emslie served as a Roger Perry Government Transparency intern at Pioneer in 2017. She worked on research projects ranging from higher education, finance, and transportation policy. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Boston University.

About Pioneer

Pioneer Institute is an independent, non-partisan, privately funded research organization that seeks to improve the quality of life in Massachusetts through civic discourse and intellectually rigorous, data-driven public policy solutions based on free market principles, individual liberty and responsibility, and the ideal of effective, limited and accountable government.

Stay Connected!

Related Posts

Public Statement: Pioneer Institute Applauds U.S. Supreme Court Ruling in Espinoza School Choice Case

Pioneer Institute applauds today’s U.S. Supreme Court’s decision striking down a bigoted state constitutional amendment in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue. Like Massachusetts, Montana is among nearly 40 states with so-called anti-aid amendments, which have roots in 19th century anti-Catholic, anti-immigrant discrimination.

Sensible police reform includes changing ‘qualified immunity’ laws

/
Even in a time of painful divisions in our country, there is little doubt among people of good faith that what Derek Chauvin and three other former Minneapolis police officers did to George Floyd was criminal. If they are indeed convicted of a felony, how is it that the former officers could very well be immune from civil liability?

Pandemic, Lost Instructional Time Reveal Massachusetts’ Digital Learning Weaknesses

A report released today by Pioneer Institute says that the shutdown of Massachusetts schools due to the COVID-19 virus and the shift to online education have exposed the uneven nature of digital learning in the Commonwealth, and calls for state officials to develop programs to create more consistency.

Easthampton High Scores A National Educational Victory During The COVID-19 Pandemic

/
This spring, Massachusetts’ Easthampton High School was crowned national champion in the “We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution” contest. The competition brings together about 1,200 students from across the country to answer civics questions based on America’s Founding Documents including the U.S. Constitution; The Federalist Papers; and U.S. Supreme Court decisions.

Mass. schools must recommit to knowledge-based curriculum

/
The Bay State’s leadership role has continued into the current century. Massachusetts made tremendous strides in the years following passage of a landmark 1993 education reform law. But it has been backsliding since 2010, when it adopted weaker English and math standards known as Common Core. To get back on track, Massachusetts must reform its school- and district-level curriculum to emphasize imparting a shared body of background knowledge and social commitment to students in all ZIP codes.

Experts Find K-12 Online Education Can Be Appropriate for Most Special Needs Students

School closures due to COVID-19 have separated more than seven million K-12 special needs students from support they receive in the classroom, but online learning can be appropriate for most of those students if teachers and parents work as a team to provide each one with what he or she needs, according to a new report published by Pioneer Institute and ASU Prep Digital.

Study: Officials Must Address Basic Questions to Improve Public School Computer Science Education

Even as the COVID-19 pandemic has further transitioned education towards electronic devices, computer science education in K-12 public schools around the country faces a number of daunting challenges, according to a new study published by Pioneer Institute.

“Every Action has an Equal and Opposite Reaction”: 8 K-12 Science Resources During COVID-19

/
The fourth in Pioneer’s ongoing series of blogs on curricular resources for parents, families, and teachers during COVID-19 focuses on science education.

Kaya Henderson, Former Chancellor, D.C. Public Schools, on Leading Urban District Reform

/
This week on “The Learning Curve,” Cara and Gerard are happy to be joined by Kaya Henderson, the former chancellor of the District of Columbia Public Schools. They discuss the historic reforms Henderson oversaw, including increasing enrollment and improved test scores in an urban district that had been one of the lowest performing in the country.

California’s Common Core Apologia

/
In a recent blog, Dr. Michael Kirst, past president of the California State Board of Education, attempts to defend his record of Common Core implementation during that period. But policy experts Ze’ev Wurman & Williamson Evers set the Golden State's record during Common Core straight.

As college students and parents demand robust COVID-19 response, university finances suffer

/
COVID-19 is likely going to put severe pressure on college finances in the coming months due to costly added safety measures, cuts to state funding, and foregone revenue from campus housing, services, and events.

Stargazing: Five Astronomy Resources for Parents, Teachers, and Kids During COVID-19

/
Here are some resources for parents, teachers, and students of all ages. Our hope is to cultivate the curiosity within us, in order to better understand the heavens and stars above us.

Pioneer Institute Relaunches “One-Stop Shop” for Education Performance Data

Pioneer Institute is re-launching a new and improved MassReportCards.org, a one-stop shop for information on Massachusetts public schools, including test performance, school finance, and much more. The new version of the site includes additional and updated data, and is more user friendly than the original. MassReportCards adds to Pioneer’s suite of online transparency tools, MassWatch.

Study Finds Historic Drop in National Reading and Math Scores Since Adoption of Common Core Curriculum Standards

New study shows that, breaking with decades of slow improvement, U.S. reading and math scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and other assessments have seen historic declines since most states implemented national Common Core English and math curriculum standards six years ago.

New Report Offers Case Study for Transition to Online Learning

Virtual Schooling Pioneer Julie Young provides tips on how states should move forward with the transition to online education during COVID-19.

Learning in the Time of COVID-19

/
Parents are deeply frustrated with the loss of learning their children will be provided as a result of COVID-19. Here are some resources to help address this gap.

Students still need to learn during the coronavirus pandemic

/
This op-ed appeared in The Boston Globe on March 31, 2020. State…

New Brief Calls on the USED for School Closure Guidelines During COVID-19

Pioneer calls on the federal government to quickly release a single report identifying which federal laws - and which aspects of those laws - are relevant to the topic of school closure during the COVID pandemic, and providing concrete guidance on how schools can comply in the coming weeks.