Hey, there! Log in / Register

Apparently, having a sister school in Boston isn't enough for UMass Amherst

The Globe reports UMass Amherst is buying Mt. Ida College in Newton, which it will shut down and remake as UMass Amherst's Boston campus (UMass Amherst Boston?). Current Mt. Ida students will be able to transfer to UMass Dartmouth.

Neighborhoods: 


Ad:


Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!

Comments

If the state were going to take on so much debt why not just pump that money into Umass... um Boston? Get that campus up and running, get more dorms, build it out, they have the space if they build on it! There is no reason why Boston is sitting in a bowl of dirt while we are bailing out Newton schools. If they funneled all that extra cash into Umass Boston and structured the systems better they could all share the new buildings.

up
Voting closed 0

Isn't this kind of big expansion of the Umass system. Where did they get the money to do that? Is it necessary to Umass?

And despite all my questions, the people who really are getting screwed are the current students. "It's OK, we'll take you and your credits in this other school that's 60 miles away."

up
Voting closed 0

The people who are really getting screwed are the employees, who are all out of a job in 5 weeks.

up
Voting closed 0

.

up
Voting closed 0

Sounds like they would be out of a job sooner than later anyways.

up
Voting closed 0

Mount Ida classes will conclude after commencement this spring. It has, meanwhile, accepted students for the fall, who are now considering alternatives.

That is spin. It would be more accurate to say "It has, meanwhile, accepted students for the fall, many of whom are royally screwed."

Instead of raising questions in a credible way, let's finish like this:

“I genuinely don’t have a problem ... however because we’re merging my major is going to no longer be part of the program,” said Wood, 19.

He said the transition won’t be as easy for some of his friends who do not have good grades.

up
Voting closed 0

AND students in these programs (veterinary technology, dental hygiene, funeral services education or interior design) are in programs not offered by UMass. So far the students are not being offered a solution to this problem. They are on their own.

up
Voting closed 0

n/t

up
Voting closed 0

Finding a place for mt. Ida students to land, but the idea that UMass Amherst needs a “Boston outpost” is ridiculous. It has UMass Boston. Invest the money in the UMass Boston. What are they thinking

up
Voting closed 0

100 upvotes!!

up
Voting closed 0

April Fools?

up
Voting closed 0

I thought the same thing...

up
Voting closed 0

Maybe they got the idea from Arizona. They’ve got Northern Arizona U in Flagstaff, Arizona State U in Tempe (next to Phoenix) and U of Arizona in Tucson ... but NAU and U of A also have outposts in Phoenix for whatever reason.

up
Voting closed 0

If they're going to expand something, they probably should expand UMass medical school. It's in Worcester, and would make sense to have a presence in metro Boston.

up
Voting closed 0

To students who were accepted to attend Mt. Ida next year and turned down other schools. It's unclear if any provisions are being made for them.

up
Voting closed 0

This must be a nightmare for small college admissions offices. It is already hard enough to convince students that they should pick your small school for the culture of closeness and the small ideal campus your school offers... only to have a school like Mount Ida go belly up with almost no notice, flinging current students , who once again wanted a nice quiet Newton experience, all over the place into the Umass college system. With this being BEST CASE SCENARIO. They could have just changed the locks on the doors and said go screw.

If I were a parent with college aged kids I would want to see a schools financials and if it is a small school what their contingency plan is in the event they decide to close down. Ideally I would want to see something with more ramp time than 5 weeks.

up
Voting closed 0

If the college is well-endowed it will let you know.

And yeah there’s going to be a thinning of the herd. So expect more focus on financials.

up
Voting closed 0

You can't just say the college is closing in 2 years because then everyone will simply leave/find jobs elsewhere and the school won't be able to function.

up
Voting closed 0

Mount Ida is, or was supposed to be, merging with Lasalle. Either way, they aren’t going to the school next year.

up
Voting closed 0

They weren't accepting applications. Why would they do all that work when they were merging or selling?

https://www.mountida.edu/admissions-aid/apply/admitted-students-split/

up
Voting closed 0

There are a bunch of comments on the Mount Ida facebook page from students or parents of students who were accepted for Fall 2018 and already sent in their deposits. Some of them were supposed to do their accepted student campus visits this coming week. And of course it's now super late in the game for those students to try to go to another school, because the admissions cycle for Fall 2018 is pretty much over everywhere...

The more I read about this the worse it gets.

up
Voting closed 0

Newbury College in Brookline has offered them acceptance, so that is one option:
https://newbury.edu/news-and-events/news/2018/04/06/a-message-to-mount-i...

up
Voting closed 0

I think Mt. Ida had the only 2 year vet tech program in Massachusetts. They also have other academic/vocational fusion programs that are in short supply locally. Hope UMass keeps these going.

up
Voting closed 0

Step 1) Buy the college
Step 2) move the Mt Ida students in UMass Boston
Step 3) Redevelop that land as mixed housing and sell at market rates.
Step 4) Reinvest that money into UMass Boston

up
Voting closed 0

Step 5) Profit!

up
Voting closed 0

Step 4: Produce the worst musical ever!

up
Voting closed 0

when is the first kegger?

up
Voting closed 0

At least the Wheelock kids get to go to BU....also, is UMass D renowned for their funeral science program?

up
Voting closed 0

Mt. Ida students in 4 programs: veterinary technology, dental hygiene, funeral services education or interior design; are in programs not offered by UMass. So far the students are not being offered a solution to this problem. They are on their own.

up
Voting closed 0

Two thoughts...

1. It sounds like somebody in UMass hierarchy decided (with or without good reason) "Hey, we need a graduate/corporate satellite campus on the 128 corridor like all the other colleges built years ago!"

2. How did BC miss out on the opportunity to absorb land/facilities?

up
Voting closed 0

Is losing the Mount Mattress moniker. I guess it will be like any old locale that still gets referred to by its old name. Scollay Square, Tower Records, Mount Mattress.

up
Voting closed 0

I'm a lifelong Bostonian, and not a young one, and honestly, nobody refers to Government Center as "Scollay Square". Anyone who would have is pretty much gone by now, and there weren't a lot before. Once it became Government Center that name kind of stuck for better or worse. The recent resurrection of the "Scollay Square" signs in the Government Center T stop was a misguided idea and only serves to royally confuse tourists who see the sign and think they haven't arrived at Government Center yet.

up
Voting closed 0

is what a female grad from the 1980s told me. Are you thinking of Pine Mattress?

up
Voting closed 0

Nothing like some good ol’misoginistic humor on a Saturday - are you a Statie, Pete Nice? No? You should be - you would fit right in.

up
Voting closed 0

Don't stay triggered all weekend Dave, it isn't healthy.

up
Voting closed 0

rather than Boston or Lowell?

up
Voting closed 0

Umass Lowell is regarded higher academically and isn't comparable for "school to school" transfers for a place like Mt. Ida.

I'm not sure about Umass Boston, but with no dorms I'm guessing they figured a school with dorms (65% of Mt. Ida students lived on campus and needed that housing) was a better fit?

up
Voting closed 0

So, barry brown has killed mt Ida after trying his best to do that at Suffolk.

No clue what he is doing. Maybe trump will hire him

up
Voting closed 0

I may be wrong, but I don't get the idea that UMass Amherst wants to establish a full service Boston campus. I think they just want a place for their students to live when doing internships in the Boston area, which is where the work is, not in the Pioneer Valley. I assume many of those internships are out of the question for students who don't have family in the Boston area.

It also doesn't take away from the real financial struggle that U Mass Boston is going through. The U Mass campuses seem to operate in very separate ways.

up
Voting closed 0