Expansion at the school includes a larger dining commons, and a new dormitory and academic building.
Kathryn T. Quigley, who received her master's degree in public administration from Westfield State University this year, says "The university will continue to make changes, but a lot of people look at the name first before they consider enrollment. The change will also help graduates get into graduate schools."WESTFIELD – University. College.
Does it make a difference?
Since its change from college to university in October, Westfield State University is experiencing increases in freshman applications, graduation rates and its retention of students.
While the successes may not all be attributed to the new university status at the Western Avenue campus, when coupled with efforts to keep the state-run school affordable and accessible, the name change is making a mark.
“We continue to be the best value in higher education in the state. That has been determined by MassInc.,” president Evan S. Dobelle said in a recent interview. “Higher education must be accessible and affordable, and that is the continued focus at (Westfield State University).”
He calls Westfield “a private-quality and public-value school.”
Even before Westfield joined Bridgewater, Fitchburg, Framingham, Salem and Worcester state colleges in becoming universities, it had already been tagged in a study by MassInc., the Boston-based, nonpartisan public-policy think-tank, as tops among 23 private and public colleges in delivering the best education for the dollar.
Westfield State officials, students and alumni say the change from college to university goes beyond a simple matter of prestige; some do contend it is easier to get into graduate schools after graduation from a university and more potential students look at universities before colleges.
In July, Western New England College officially takes on its university status. The 92-year-old private school is now Springfield’s first university and the only private one in the Pioneer Valley.
While Western New England offers doctoral degrees, the state colleges, now universities, cannot under state legislation unless they do so in conjunction with the University of Massachusetts. Chapter 73, Section 1, of state law reads: “The state universities, as established by section 5 of chapter 15A shall provide educational programs, research, extension and continuing education services in the liberal, fine and applied arts and sciences and other related disciplines through the master’s degree level. They may offer doctoral programs in cooperation with the University of Massachusetts under authority granted by the board of higher education, concurred in by the boards of trustees of the University of Massachusetts and of said state universities.”
Dobelle hints that while Westfield does not yet offer doctoral programs, plans may be in the works to have the University of Massachusetts at Amherst offer doctorate-level courses on his campus.
Westfield’s name change was approved last July and took effect on Oct. 28.
Since then, Dobelle said, enrollment is up by 3 percent with 41 percent of freshmen applicants coming here.
That’s not the only statistic to which Dobelle and others point as markers of Westfield’s growing success story.
• Students of color in the freshman class are at 17 percent, up from 11 percent a year ago;
• The freshman class for September will number 1,188 with 90 of them enrolled in honors programs; and
• Ninety-two percent of the new freshman class are state residents.
“We had to turn down 500 students for enrollment because we lack adequate housing, but that will be corrected by 2013,” Dobelle said.
Kristina M. Norris, Kristina M. Norris, who graduated in May, says she appreciated all that Westfield State offered her – including the fact it is now recognized with university status. The university houses 219 students off campus at the state-leased Lansdowne Place project in the middle of the city’s central business district. Lansdowne Place, which opened last fall, was the first move in a nearly 3-year-old town-and-gown effort to team up with the city and private developers to improve Westfield’s downtown while also offering student housing.
There are plans to add more downtown housing options for students; the goal announced in 2008 was upwards to 1,000 students. There were also hopes to locate a Barnes & Noble Booksellers satellite book store in the downtown with a target date of 2010, but that remains in the works.
In June, the college foundation announced a purchase-and-sale agreement with University Housing LLC for the former Westfield State College Normal Training School building on Washington Street. The Springfield-based firm, founded by Peter A. Picknelly, president of Peter Pan Bus Lines, and Demetrios N. Panteleakis, of Opan Real Estate Group, plans to offer up to 100 beds, in apartment-style housing, to Westfield State students beginning in January.
Fifty-percent of all Westfield State students now come from communities west of Worcester. “We draw from the entire state,” said Dobelle. That fact heightens the need for more such housing, both on- and off-campus.
Westfield has demonstrated high rentention rates for its student body, and, along with the rising numbers for freshman applications, “continuing education is showing an increase in enrollment,” the president said. “This is all significant, and we are pleased.”
The college’s Division of Graduate and Continuing Education has seen enrollment jump 43 percent from 2009-2010 to the recently-completed school year; the number of enrollees went from 1,439 to a current 2,067 students.
From alumni and student perspectives, “Life on campus is not much different today,” says Kathry T. Quigley. The name change, in many ways, cemented something they already knew.
“We had university status before. Now we have the name to prove it,” the 2009 graduate and Wilbraham resident said.
Quigley, who received her master’s degree in public administration this year, said, “The university will continue to make changes but a lot of people look at the name first before they consider enrollment. The change will also help graduates get into graduate schools.
“Dr. Dobelle has made (Westfield State University) well known nationally and internationally during his presidency. The quality of education has improved in the last three years,” Quigley said.
Evan S. DobelleUpon her 2009 graduation, Quigley obtained an administrative assistant position with the university’s Department of Nursing and Allied Health.
Kristina M. Norris, who graduated in May and was among the “29 Who Shine” award winners recognized by the state Board of Higher Education among students at all the state’s colleges, said she appreciated all that Westfield State offered her - including the fact it is now recognized with university status.
“Some signs have been changed to Westfield State University, but there is still the small school feel on campus,” Norris said. “You are not just a number here but the university status is a huge thing. It carries more prestige.”
The Braintree resident said she plans to return to Westfield State in the fall for graduate studies in her field, criminal justice.
“I know the university has plans for some expansion in the next three years, but I also know it will continue to maintain its comfortable environment,” Norris said. “It is really exciting what is happening here, and I am honored to be a member of the first graduating class from Westfield State University.”
Along with the potential link with UMass for doctoral-level offerings, Dobelle said Westfield State may do some outreach of its own, offering some of its bachelor’s-degree courses at area community colleges.
Dobelle also proudly points to several Westfield State students currently studying in Ireland and China as indicative of the school’s reach beyond its borders. “We also have four students who will do an internship at Berkshire Theater. We are a global institution,” he said.
Earlier this year, the university’s trustees and state agencies approved a $100 million expansion that involves construction of a new dormitory and academic hall and expansion of the campus dining commons.
The $4 million dining expansion is already under way and scheduled for completion by the start of the coming school year. Construction of the dormitory is expected to begin early next year for occupancy in September 2013. The academic hall construction would start later next year or in early 2013 and be ready for use by September 2014, Dobelle said.
At the end of the school year in May, total enrollment stood at 5,500 students with half living on campus or in university-supported housing such as Lansdowne Place. Enrollment for September will jump to at least 5,900, officials say.
Westfield State has an annual operating budget of $86.3 million with a $13 million reserve fund. It employs an estimated 700 people and offers 118 major academic programs.