Worcester Business Journal

50 Worcester Business Journal | Fact Book 2017 | wbjournal.com Massachusetts College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences, Worcester (includes Worcester campus and online students) 2,155 $937,000,000 College of the Holy Cross, Worcester 3,020 $748,948,000 Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester 5,150 $502,500,000 Clark University, Worcester 3,298 $369,100,000 University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester 1,095 $207,538,585 Assumption College, Worcester 2,081 $102,544,361 Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, North Grafton 442 $67,275,967 Bay Path University, Sturbridge campus (1,923 students including Longmeadow campus) 90 $48,164,967 Dean College, Franklin 1,112 $43,000,000 Framingham State University, Framingham 3,688 $37,900,000 Worcester State University, Worcester (Preliminary figures) 4,317 $26,279,319 Fitchburg State University, Fitchburg 4,464 $17,072,585 Nichols College, Dudley 1,212 $13,700,000 Mount Wachusett Community College*, Gardner (FTE enrollment) 2,338 $10,100,000 Becker College, Worcester 1,892 $4,900,000 Anna Maria College, Paxton 1,092 $4,769,545 Quinsigamond Community College*, Worcester (FTE enrollment) 4,462 $3,700,000 College enrollment and endowments School 2017 full-time enrollment 2017 endowment Source: Each college via survey; endowment figures are the most recently available *FTE enrollment is determined by calculating the total credit hours divided by 15. A highly educated economy Home to 17 colleges, Central Massachusetts benefits from their brainpower, facilities and visitors C olleges scattered around Central Massachusetts don't just crank out thousands of graduates each year – they're economic engines of their own as major employers and sources of large con- struction projects. On one end of Worcester, the phar- maceutical giant AbbVie and other companies have put down roots next to UMass Medical School. Just north of downtown, startups have moved into Gateway Park, a new series of buildings anchored by Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Across from Worcester Common, a video-game startup, Petricore, has set up not far from where it got its start at Becker College. Top workforce The area's colleges comprise a major piece of the area's economy, giving Greater Worcester a contrast from some other urban areas. The financial website WalletHub ranked Worcester in the top third most-educated cities this summer, based in large part on how many work- ers have college degrees. "From a business perspective, it's the No. 1 reason why businesses choose to locate in one area over another," said Karen Pelletier, the director of higher education and workforce partnerships at the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce. "It's the educated workforce." How often do prospective companies inquire about the area's graduates? "I would say every time," said Pelletier, who regularly meets with companies' human relations officials. "I would be surprised if there wasn't a time." Nearly 9,000 work for one of the 11 colleges that make up the Higher Education Consortium of Central Massachusetts, a group known as HECCMA. The economic impact of those work- ers adds up quickly. Combined, those workers made $660 million in 2015, according to HECCMA, and combined with students, they commit more than 1 million hours of community service time to the area. "Each is committed and engaged in the community in which they're locat- ed," said Jeanine Went, the HECCMA executive director. BY GRANT WELKER Worcester Business Journal News Editor The Hogan Oval at the College of the Holy Cross was renovated in 2011 with pedestrian walkways and a new lawn. The campus was named the most beautiful in Massachusetts in March by Travel + Leisure magazine. H i g h e r E d u c a t i o n I N D U S T R I E S

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