Enrollment Surge Reported At UMass

  Enrollment at the University of Massachusetts is surging.  WAMC”s Paul Tuthill reports.

   The number of students enrolled in the five campus system has jumped 16 percent in the last five years according to a report by U Mass President Robert Caret that was presented at a meeting Wednesday of the board of trustees. Total enrollment this year is 71,000, a record.  The number of students enrolled has grown by 13,000 over the past decade.  Caret attributed the growth to the university’s quality and affordability compared to private schools.  Freshman enrollment at the flagship Amherst campus was actually down by a couple hundred students from a year ago.  The university said that was by design because of facilities changes resulting from the ongoing construction of a new honors college.