CHANCELLOR COLLINS IS THE MAN WITH THE STRATEGIC PLAN. And for all those UMass Boston students wanting to know what that plan is, they can go to www.umb.edu/strategic_plan/ and find further information on the process. A major component to the Strategic Plan’s website is the idea of “Fidelity to the Urban Mission. Laid out in the plan is a comprehensive diagram that utilizes all aspects of the UMass Boston campus life.
UMASS TUITION INCREASE FOR THE 2007-2008 YEAR. The finance committee of the university’s board of trustees approved a measure on Wednesday that will increase UMass tuitions by three percent. This means that regular tuition fees for in-state undergraduates would increase from $8,918 to $9,221. The tuition hike proposal was recommended by UMass President Jack Wilson.
THE WATERMARK IS NOW OFFERING SCHOLARSHIPS. Boston area high-school students can enter for the Watermark’s scholarship contest by April 6, 2007. Two scholarships will be handed out; one for art, and one for literature, including fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. One winner of each scholarship will win a $500.00 scholarship towards college related costs. As well as financial earnings, the winner of each prize will also have their works published in the Spring 2007 issue of the Watermark.
NEW LEGISLATION INCREASES FUNDS FOR FEDERAL PELL GRANT SCHOLARSHIP. This is the first increase in the federal grant since 2003, and is part of congress’s new budget resolution for the House Education and Labor Committee. Developed by Rep. David Obey (D-WI) and Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV), and signed into law by President George Bush, the new plan will increase the maximum scholarship by $260. This grant increase will be available for students enrolling during the 2007-2008 academic year.
MASSACHUSETTS SENATOR EDWARD KENNEDY HELD A HEARING ON COLLEGE AFFORDABILITY LAST WEEK in which he discussed several proposals that would increase student aid as well as reform the current student loan system so that they work for students, and not the banks. Sen. Kennedy also emphasized that student debt is one of the leading factors in the growing economic inequality in higher education, the decreasing number of students entering into lower paying, yet deeply rewarding, careers in public service, as well as the 400,000 qualified students a year who don’t attend a 4-year college due to inaffordability. The hearing is currently available online at www.help.senate.gov
UMASSONLINE AWARDED $650,000 GRANT TO DEVELOP AND PROMOTE NEW PROGRAMS. This grant, which will be used for online education programs throughout each of the University of Massachusetts’s five campuses, was given to the university by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation which has made online learning one of its main causes. The money that will be used at UMass Boston will go towards starting a bachelor’s degree program for registered nurses.