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04-07-2003

Page history last edited by PBworks 17 years, 6 months ago

April 7, 2003

ROMNEY WINS STUDENT SUPPORT FOR HIGHER EDUCATION PLAN

Accepts petition signed by UMass, state and community college students

 

Student leaders today showed their support for Governor Mitt Romney’s higher education reorganization plan by presenting him with a petition signed by hundreds of students enrolled at the University of Massachusetts, and state and community colleges.

 

The petition was circulated over the past five days by members of Students for Higher Education Reform and the University of Massachusetts Republican Club. Last month, the Student Government Association at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst endorsed Romney’s higher education reorganization.

 

“Seeing this groundswell of student support only boosts my belief that what we are trying to do in our higher education system is right,” Romney said. “I am committed to our plan, which guarantees quality, affordability and accessibility to all of our campuses for all Massachusetts residents.”

 

Under one of the key parts of the proposal, both tuition and fees will be rolled into one student charge, set by the Board of Higher Education and retained in full by the individual campuses. Charges will rise to levels competitive with comparable schools in other nearby states, with nearly 50 percent of the increase returned to students in the form of financial aid to help Massachusetts residents afford a college education.

 

Under the current system, 40 percent of state residents who are eligible for public higher education cannot afford it, according to state higher education officials.

 

Students lauded the Governor’s proposal for its attention to their financial needs.

 

“The University of Massachusetts was founded as a land grant university, which means a place where education should be accessible to everyone,” said University of Massachusetts-Amherst student Christopher Carlozzi. “Now, under Governor Romney’s plan, that goal will truly become a reality.”

 

Other parts of the reorganization plan call for 25 of the state’s schools to be divided among seven logical, geographical regions, which will be overseen by Regional Coordinating Councils. The chairman of each school’s board of trustees will serve on their region’s council, and the chair of each council will be a voting member of the Board of Higher Education, ensuring that the voice of each school is heard at every level.

 

The plan also calls for three schools that cater to a unique niche, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Massachusetts Maritime Academy and Massachusetts College of Art, to become state-sponsored, allowing them to thrive and recruit students more aggressively from other states. The Commonwealth will continue to lease each campus space for $1 per year, and continuing financial aid funding would ensure that tuition increases will not shut out needy state residents.

 

The University of Massachusetts-Amherst will become its own research university and the state’s flagship, similar to a University of Michigan or Virginia. Under Romney’s plan, UMass-Amherst will be able to more successfully recruit out-of-state students and compete for top research faculty and grants.

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