New England is World Class: A Global Destination for Higher Education

New England, a region of six unique states, is a global powerhouse when it comes to higher education institutions and opportunities. Students and leaders from around the world come here for learning, innovation, and expertise—including over 60,000 international students and scholars.

Why do they come? It is the diversity of New England’s 250-plus campuses—public and private, two-year and four-year, religious and secular, professional and liberal arts—that makes the region a world-class destination. It is also the excellent students and scholars that our colleges attract and that create one of the richest learning environments to be found anywhere on the globe.

At New England colleges and universities, there is something for everyone at every point along the continuum of lifelong learning. Our institutions prepare students for occupations that may not have existed when those students first arrived on campus. Institutions also conduct cutting-edge research that results in new companies and industries that transform their surrounding communities and beyond.

From traditional, first-time freshmen to working adults and commuter students, New England colleges and universities educate nearly a million students annually, sending them forth as teachers, engineers, scientists, healthcare providers, technicians, entrepreneurs, poets, and technologists. New England’s higher education influence is not constrained by geographic borders. Students from every corner of the world access courses and degree programs 24/7 from New England colleges via the ever-expanding online learning opportunities. The increased availability of flexible learning models that expand beyond the traditional classroom means more choices for students. More than ever before, there is a college for everyone.

This Guide is designed to help find the right one for you—independent of your age, background or starting point. It helps students and families make informed choices and provides a wide array of key data on the region’s colleges, such as acceptance rates; application deadlines; prices; availability of on-campus housing and childcare; student-faculty ratios; and the percentage of students who are international or of minority background. The Guide also indicates whether campuses offer online degree or weekend programs and accept credit for prior learning.

Collaboration and innovation are the primary roles of the New England Board of Higher Education. Created in 1955, NEBHE’s mission is to expand, through interstate cooperation, the education opportunities and services available to the region’s residents, with a focus on college affordability, access, and success. A prime example is NEBHE’s “Tuition Break” program, which provides a discount on the out-of-state tuition students pay at public colleges and universities in the other New England states when they pursue more than 800 specialized academic degree programs, many of them in high-demand career areas.

About 9,000 students take advantage of this program every year, saving $7,900 on average each year on their tuition bills. In 2015, students and families saved $58 million dollars on tuition!

Since it was established in 1957, Tuition Break has provided New England students and families with over $1 billion in savings. The six states have saved untold millions of dollars by avoiding duplication of programs already available in other New England states. Learn more about the program in this Guide (and look for the Tuition Break logo in the college listings). Also, visit our website at nebhe.org/programs-overview/rsp-tuition-break/overview.

NEBHE thanks Boston magazine for the opportunity to work together to produce the 2017 Guide. We trust it will be a valuable resource in connecting you with the region’s diverse colleges—opening doors for continued learning, degree attainment, career advancement, and intellectual enrichment.

Michael K. Thomas is president and CEO of the New England Board of Higher Education and publisher of The New England Journal of Higher Education. Email: presidentsoffice@nebhe.org