University of Massachusetts President Marty Meehan announced on Monday plans to launch a new online college solely for adult learners.
In his third annual State of the University address, the former Democratic congressman said the new online college, which is still being developed, would preserve the university's mission as the number of college-aged high school graduates in the northeast drops.
"In New England ... there will be 32,000 to 54,000 fewer college-aged students just seven years from now,” Meehan said, addressing students, administrators and lawmakers at the UMass Club in Boston. “That means colleges and universities will have too much capacity and not enough demand at a time when the economic model in higher education is already straining under its own weight."
Although Massachusetts enjoys the country's most educated workforce, Meehan pointed out, employers still struggle to find enough workers with the right skills. He said making a UMass education available to adult learners online would help to address that gap. He said rising costs and limited access to new funding is preventing the university from meeting the state's workforce demands.
"It’s clear that our single greatest opportunity to ensure a healthy and prosperous UMass, while still meeting our workforce development mission, is to take bold and intentional steps to make a UMass education more accessible to potential students we are not currently serving at scale," he said.
Meehan argued the time to launch an online college is now because out-of-state institutions like Purdue University and Southern New Hampshire University are already enrolling thousands of adult learners in Massachusetts.
He didn't give word on when the new online college will open or how much it will cost, but Meehan said he plans to meet with campus leaders this spring.
Marlene Kim, president of the UMass Boston Faculty Staff Union, said professors want to be part of the planning process for the new college and to make sure it does not compete for adult students already on campus.
