How Western New England University is bucking higher ed's big correction

By Craig Douglas. Western New England University lacks the size and branding power to generate much attention in Massachusetts, or elsewhere for that matter. But its responses to the changing winds in higher education are worth a closer look among the many schools at risk of being swept out to sea.
To be sure, Western New England is fighting the tide, too. Its law school enrollment has been steadily sinking since 2009. Full-time undergrad numbers have teetered, while part-time and summer enrollments are off 20 percent over that same 5-year span. Other red flags — weaker selectivity rates among freshman applicants, a growing reliance on tuition discounts, meager endowment returns — appear to highlight a school struggling to keep up with the times. More...