BOSTON—More than a dozen New England “college towns” host 10,000 students or more, according to research to be published next week in Connection: The Journal of the New England Board of Higher Education.
Boston leads the way with more than 131,000 full- and part-time students attending 33 different colleges and universities in the city, according to the Spring 2006 issue of Connection, which features more than 60 tables and charts exploring New England’s changing demography, college enrollment, graduation rates, degrees granted, higher education finance and university research.
“New England is truly America’s ‘college region,'” said NEBHE President and CEO Evan S. Dobelle. “But the global marketplace for students is changing fast. We need to work together to ‘sell’ New England’s higher education brand if we are to hold onto this advantage.”
“Colleges add a vibrant dimension to New England’s cities and towns, bringing with them art, culture and an extraordinary quality of life,” added former Maine state senator and NEBHE Chair Mary R. Cathcart.
New England Cities with the Largest College Enrollments
| City | Colleges | Total Enrollment |
| Boston, Mass. | 33 | 131,702 |
| Cambridge, Mass. | 8 | 48,697 |
| Providence, R.I. | 6 | 39,843 |
| Amherst, Mass. | 3 | 27,651 |
| Storrs, Conn. | 1 | 27,579 |
| Worcester, Mass. | 8 | 25,913 |
| Lowell, Mass. | 2 | 19,211 |
| Warwick, R.I. | 2 | 19,304 |
| Springfield, Mass. | 5 | 16,853 |
| Kingston, R.I. | 1 | 14,749 |
| Durham, N.H. | 1 | 14,405 |
| Burlington, Vt. | 4 | 14,038 |
| Portland, Maine | 4 | 12,346 |
| New Britain, Conn. | 1 | 12,320 |
Note: Total enrollment includes full- and part-time undergraduate, graduate and non-degree students. Source: New England Board of Higher Education Annual Survey of New England Colleges and Universities, 2005.
Now in its 20th year, Connection is the journal of the nonprofit New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) and America’s only regional journal on higher education and the economy.
The Spring 2006 Connection features an exclusive interview with historian and best-selling author Douglas Brinkley and expert commentaries by Tufts University President Lawrence Bacow, Massachusetts education reform expert S. Paul Reville and others.gional economic development.
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