Worcester State College: Narrative Description

views updated

WORCESTER STATE COLLEGE E-9

486 Chandler St.
Worcester, MA 01602-2597
Tel: (508)929-8000; (866)WSC-CALL
Admissions: (508)929-8825
Fax: (508)929-8131
Web Site: http://www.worcester.edu/

Description:

State-supported, comprehensive, coed. Part of Massachusetts Public Higher Education System. Awards bachelor's and master's degrees. Founded 1874. Setting: 53-acre urban campus with easy access to Boston. Endowment: $8.5 million. Educational spending 2003-04: $6363 per student. Total enrollment: 5,404. Faculty: 270 (171 full-time, 99 part-time). Student-undergrad faculty ratio is 18:1. 3,914 applied, 57% were admitted. Full-time: 3,109 students, 58% women, 42% men. Part-time: 1,445 students, 64% women, 36% men. Students come from 18 states and territories, 46 other countries, 2% from out-of-state, 0.3% Native American, 3% Hispanic, 3% black, 3% Asian American or Pacific Islander, 5% international, 17% 25 or older, 35% live on campus, 10% transferred in. Retention: 72% of full-time freshmen returned the following year. Academic areas with the most degrees conferred: business/marketing; health professions and related sciences; psychology. Core. Calendar: semesters. Advanced placement, accelerated degree program, honors program, independent study, double major, summer session for credit, part-time degree program, adult/continuing education programs, internships, graduate courses open to undergrads. Off campus study at Worcester Consortium for Higher Education, other Massachusetts state colleges. Study abroad program. ROTC: Army (c), Naval (c), Air Force (c).

Entrance Requirements:

Options: electronic application, early admission, deferred admission. Required: high school transcript, minimum 2.0 high school GPA. Required for some: SAT or ACT. Entrance: moderately difficult. Application deadlines: 8/1, 6/1 for nonresidents. Notification: continuous.

Costs Per Year:

Application fee: $20. State resident tuition: $970 full-time, $40.42 per credit part-time. Nonresident tuition: $7050 full-time, $293.75 per credit part-time. Mandatory fees: $3609 full-time, $145.79 per credit part-time. Full-time tuition and fees vary according to class time, course load, and reciprocity agreements. Part-time tuition and fees vary according to class time, course load, and reciprocity agreements. College room and board: $6896. College room only: $4596. Room and board charges vary according to board plan and housing facility.

Collegiate Environment:

Drama-theater group, choral group, student-run newspaper, radio station. Social organizations: 14 open to all. Most popular organizations: Senate, SEC (Student Events Committee), TWA (Third World Alliance), WSCW (Radio Station), Dance Company/Club. Major annual events: Multicultural Festival, Homecoming, SGA Auction to Benefit the Homeless. Student services: personal-psychological counseling, women's center. Campus security: 24-hour emergency response devices and patrols, late night transport-escort service, controlled dormitory access, well-lit campus, limited access to campus at night. College housing designed to accommodate 693 students; 961 undergraduates lived in college housing during 2003-04. Options: men-only, women-only housing available. Learning Resources Center with 150,419 books, 15,602 microform titles, 1,021 serials, 12,127 audiovisual materials, an OPAC, and a Web page. Operations spending 2003-04: $762,356. 102 computers available on campus for general student use. Computer purchase/lease plans available. A campuswide network can be accessed from student residence rooms. Staffed computer lab on campus.

Community Environment:

The Worcester State College location has the advantages of a suburban setting in the west side of Worcester, while less than two miles from downtown Worcester. A shuttle service provides free student transportation to the other nine college in the Colleges of Worcester Consortium and to City Hall, the Worcester Public Library, and several cultural centers. Worcester, the "Heart of New England," is about 40 miles from Boston, 45 miles from Providence, Rhode Island and 60 miles from Hartford, Connecticut. More than 700,000 people live within an hour's drive. The Worcester Centrum and Convention Center, with a seating capacity of 15,500, hosts a variety of sports and entertainment events. Lakes, rivers, city parks and beaches make fishing and boating, and a variety of activities, available. Hiking and skiing are available in nearby Mt. Wachusett.

More From encyclopedia.com