Is New Commonwealth College a "Game-Changer" for UMass Amherst?

[MITChris]

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@siegbette

As someone who transferred from UMass to Cal, I can say that UMass will never reach a school like Cal. Some of the kids at UMass I worked with had 6th grade writing skills. Many professors used material from the 2000s to talk about present day sociological trends. A kid in a intro chem class asked simple biology questions a 9th grader wouldve laughed at.</p>

<p>The admitting of middle school level college age kids KILLS the academic experience. UMass needs a whole lot of help.

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<p>Speaking as a UMass/ComCol grad from the class of 2009 - I agree. I transferred from W&M to UMass (to be closer to home and pay less) and was very, very, very frustrated. But I am actually pleasantly surprised by this new complex which I hadn’t heard of. </p>

<p>ComCol was sold as a separate small liberal arts college within UMass, and it wasn’t. If it actually is / could become that, it would be a nice, welcome, challenging change.</p>

<p>It will take a long time, but certain trends could accelerate that change (the high cost of other schools and renewed focus on student debt, for example).</p>