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Feb. 15, 2017

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NEBHE Marks 60 Years of Tuition Savings

NEBHE is celebrating the 60th anniversary of its Regional Student Program (RSP), known as "Tuition Break," with briefings in each of the New England state capitols.

Over the past 60 years, NEBHE's RSP or "Tuition Break" has provided New England residents with significant tuition savings on 300,000 annual tuition bills. Total tuition savings exceeds $1 billion. 


Emidy
Among Testimonials from current RSP students and program alumni, Jeffrey Emidy explained at the Rhode Island State House briefing how he benefited from the RSP. Emidy of Woonsocket, RI, traveled to the University of Vermont to pursue its highly regarded graduate program in Historic Preservation, and was eligible to pay the RSP tuition rate . He returned home to the Ocean State where he is now deputy director of the Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission. Emidy added that he is one of three RSP graduates in his 16-person office.

In 1955, six visionary New England governors forged the New England Higher Education Compact with NEBHE as the body to pursue its aims. Two years later, NEBHE created the RSP.

Today, the RSP is the longest-running regional tuition discount program in the U.S.

For the 82 public colleges and universities that participate, the RSP provides the opportunity to fill excess capacity, promote enrollment in distinctive programs and increase student diversity.
 
At the same time, public higher education systems share resources and avoid duplicating academic programs. And graduates like Emidy are more likely to stay in New England and help fuel the economy.

For more on the program, please consult nebhe.org,  including RSP Tuition Break and, for a bit of history, our Index of Articles.
NEJHE   

Check out our newest commentary and analysis from New England's higher education leaders

Increase Student Motivation with More Choices
A Landmark College prof explains how she designed a midterm project that gave students choices among the sources they could read in order to produce an annotated bibliography on a topic. "It was a hit; students who had been disengaged all term tuned in and completed the project," writes Sophie Lampard Dennis, associate professor of education. What was it, she asked the students, that had changed for them? "The answer: They felt some control over their learning and had the ability to pursue something of interest, which produced agency and buy-in," Dennis writes. "They felt, perhaps, that they were being invited to the table to help direct their own learning; they were empowered--active, not passive."

Bringing Good Things to Life
The relocation of GE's corporate headquarters from Fairfield, Conn., to Boston was seen as a significant blow to Fairfield's economy and the state. GE was Fairfield's largest taxpayer and a key supporter of local nonprofits. GE said it was leaving because the area lacked the innovation and incubation opportunities presented by the dozens of colleges and universities in the Greater Boston area, combined with access to a skilled pipeline of new workers and supportive industries, Ironically, Sacred Heart University (SHU) bought the headquarters property with "innovative" plans of its own. SHU's new West Campus on the site will house its School of Computing (computer engineering, computer gaming and cybersecurity) and new programs in the STEM fields, including health and life sciences, science and technology.
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View constantly updated higher education job listings at Joblink, NEBHE's collaboration with New England HERC.
Blasts From the Pastarchives

View and download over 25 years of New England higher education news, policy and commentary from the archives of The New England Journal of Higher Education and its forerunner, Connection magazine.

NEJHE NewsBlast  is a summary of  NEJHE  content and other news around NEBHE prepared weekly by  NEJHE  Executive Editor  John O. Harney  and emailed every Wednesday to opinion leaders and practitioners. When responding to  NEJHE content, please make sure that your remarks are relevant, courteous and engaging. Individuals are responsible for their comments, which do not represent the opinions of the New England Board of Higher Education. We urge commenters to briefly note their occupational or other interest in the topic at hand. Please refrain from offensive language, personal attacks and distasteful comments or they may be deleted. Comments may not appear immediately. Thank you for staying engaged. Join Our Mailing List!
   
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