The University of Massachusetts Boston serves about 17, 000 students. UMass Boston is institutionally accredited by the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), one of the six accrediting agencies that are recognized by the US Department of Education. UMass Boston is one of two public universities in the city. Being a public university in a city that is known for having elite institutions may sound a bit daunting. However, UMass Boston has proven itself to be just as good as the elites. We have always heard that UMass Boston offers its students quality education. In fact, administrators often term the quality we get here at UMass Boston as “world class education.” However, how do we know for sure how much quality we are getting? Do we just believe we are getting “world class education” because everyone says so? What measures or outlets have proven that the education we get here is indeed “world class?”
Recently, UMass Boston was recognized by the US News and World News in its 2017 List of Best Online Programs. This achievement is a very important one, one that the UMass Boston community should be proud of. At UMass Boston, students are taught by talented professors, some of which are Ivy League graduates and who have also worked at and with Ivy League schools. The US News & World Report announced in early January that UMass Boston was selected as a part of its publication’s annual list of Best Online Programs.
The US News & World Report is an organization that has been providing in-depth information about colleges and universities to students and parents since 1983. This is a credible source and as such, the information they provide about schools in regard to ranking is an accurate depiction of these schools; in particular, UMass Boston. UMass Boston was recognized in the following three categories: Best Online Bachelor’s Programs, Best Online Business Programs, and Best Online Education Programs. In the category of Best Online Bachelor’s Program were the RN-to-BS and Global Affairs Bachelor’s programs. In the category of Best Online Business programs (non-MBA), were the Global Comparative Public Administration and Gerontology: Management of Aging Services programs. In the last category, Best Online Education programs, were Instructional Design; Applied Linguistics; School Counseling, MEd; Vision Studies: Orientation and Mobility, MEd; Vision Studies: Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments, MEd; and Vision Rehabilitation Therapy, MEd. The online courses recognized by the U.S. News and World Report are offered by the College of Advancing and Professional Studies in compliance with each discipline’s designated college.
If one is looking for valuable education at half the cost, UMass Boston is the place to be. This is not the first time UMass Boston has been featured in the US News and World Report; however, the frequency of its features seems to be increasing ever so significantly. This recognition is one which shows us just how much UMass Boston’s administration and faculty are committed to ensure their students get the education needed to survive in today’s job market. With the assurance that the quality we get here at UMass Boston is indeed “world-class,” UMass Boston’s are being equipped with the tools needed to succeed in life beyond UMass Boston.
This achievement is one we should celebrate as this is just proof that we are indeed getting world class education here at UMass Boston without paying the price those attending private colleges in Boston pay.