A Boston-based public policy research institute has released a report critical of the University of Massachusetts for admitting too many out-of-state students to its Amherst campus.
The Pioneer Institute's report released Thursday says the UMass system has ramped up academic selectivity and increased its focus on out-of-state recruiting at the expense of in-state students.
Gregory Sullivan, former state inspector general and lead researcher of Pioneer's study, says this combination has placed the Amherst school out of reach for many high school graduates in Massachusetts.
UMass-Amherst accepted more non-Massachusetts students than in-state residents for the first time in 2015, albeit by just six people.
UMass system President Martin Meehan said in a statement to The Boston Globe that the right-leaning Pioneer Institute has an agenda of protecting the state's private universities.
