Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 75.29
Liaison Ezra Small
Submission Date Feb. 17, 2023

STARS v2.2

University of Massachusetts Amherst
PA-8: Affordability and Access

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.00 / 4.00 Ezra Small
Sustainability Manager
Physical Plant
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Provide at least one of the following figures:

Percentage of need met, on average, for students who were awarded any need-based aid :
83

Percentage of students graduating without student loan debt:
36

Percentage of entering students that are low-income:
26

Graduation/success rate for low-income students:
80.40

Optional Fields

A brief description of notable policies or programs to make the institution accessible and affordable to low-income students:
The cost of attendance is based on enrollment, residency and housing, however, the campus has institutionally funded need based aid programs to assist students in covering educationally related costs.

A brief description of notable policies or programs to support non-traditional students:
University Without Walls

Since introducing our first undergraduate degree completion program in 1971, the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s University Without Walls (UWW) has offered students at all stages of life superior flexible learning opportunities. Today, UWW is the driving force behind UMass Amherst’s innovative, accessible, and adaptable educational approach that supports you in balancing school, work, and personal life. Our offerings—available to students in Massachusetts and anywhere around the world—include:

Pre-college
Undergraduate Degrees
Graduate Degrees
Certificates
Professional Development
Summer Programs
https://www.umass.edu/uww/

Veteran Services
Another group of non-traditional students that UMass Amherst actively supports is student veterans. Our Student Veterans Resource Center is open 9-5, Monday to Friday to answer questions, address concerns and assist veterans in navigating life in college. Military service and experience is credited towards college credit using the American Council on Education (ACE), CLEP, and DSST guidelines. The same standards are applied to credits for military education as those applied to coursework from accredited colleges and universities. UMass Amherst hosts a separate orientation for student veterans, offers a course for student veterans on transitioning to campus life and honing academic skills, and workshops on developing learning skills and career building.
https://www.umass.edu/veterans/

Center for Counseling and Psychological Health Non-traditional Student Therapy Group
https://www.umass.edu/counseling/groups/non-traditional-students

Estimated percentage of students that participate in or directly benefit from the institution’s policies and programs to support low-income and non-traditional students:
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Website URL where information about the institution’s accessibility and affordability initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Data for:
-Percentage of need met, on average, for students who were awarded any need-based aid
-Percentage of students graduating without student loan debt
-Percentage of entering students that are low-income...
Performance Measurement System Annual Report: https://www.umass.edu/uair/sites/default/files/publications/pms/pms_uma_2021.pdf

Data for Graduation/success rate for low-income students: is not published by UMass Amherst but this number was provided over phone by UMass Amherst University Analytics and Institutional Research on 1/26/23 by staff member Christine.

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.