September 21, 2006

To the Editor;

Taylor Fife’s examination of UMass Boston’s place within the U.S. News & World Report ranking system for colleges and university’s does a profound disservice to the university and the readers of The Mass Media. The university deserves better than to see itself tarnished in its campus newspaper through factual errors and unchecked assumptions of the author.

To correct the author:

? UMass Boston does not offer large classes. Routinely, fewer than 5 percent of all our classes have more than 50 students, and almost 50% of our courses have 20 or fewer students.

? UMass Boston is a selective institution, accepting approximately 6 out of 10 applicants.

? UMass Boston is a comprehensive university, offering doctoral, masters and bachelors degrees in more than 150 fields of study.

? UMass Boston is the most ethnically diverse large public university in New England. Furthermore, we are diverse by age, economic background, and language. Finally, if students are concerned about the size of the endowment of their university, or the rate of alumni giving, or the opinions of administrators of other universities, then they may want to buy some of the products U.S. News and World Report sells based on their annual rankings project. But for students interested in how UMass Boston delivers on the issues that really matter to them – our faculty, research opportunities, preparation for the workforce, and campus culture – I suggest they look at comprehensive assessments of university quality, specifically the National Survey of Student Engagement, where UMass Boston is examined on merits that matter to our students.

Sincerely,

Ed HaywardAssociate Vice Chancellor for University Communications