College Retention Efforts Revamped by Central MA Organizations

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Nicholas Handy, GoLocalWorcester Contributor

In an effort to retain more college students after they graduate, many organizations throughout Central Massachusetts are working to find solutions to the student retention problem in Worcester by creating internship and job opportunities to study graduating students to find out their needs.

The Worcester Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with local incubation space Running Start, is announcing a program called StartUp, which will help give graduating college students an opportunity to start new local businesses.

“Our number one goal with these programs is to help retain students in the local community,” said Karen Pelletier, Director of Higher Education-Business Partnerships. “That is the reason why we are so invested in these programs. We are currently working to populate internships for the spring semester by working with students, employers, and local businesses.”

Additionally, the Worcester Chamber of Commerce is still working on promoting and marketing the InternHub program, which is a networking website aimed at connecting local students to local businesses for internships.

Retention Study

In an effort to enlighten the community on the retention of college students in the Worcester area, the Worcester Research Bureau recently released a study called “Central Massachusetts Talent Retention Project: A Survey of the Class of 2014,” which provides insight as to the future plans of some of the students from colleges and universities in the region.

According to the study, over 7,500 students graduated from the 12 Greater Worcester colleges and universities in 2014. The new survey shows that Worcester is losing many students to other cities like Boston; less than one in five students said they intended to stay in Worcester.

The survey concluded that career opportunities are one of the biggest drivers of location for students. Additionally, family, friends, local feel, and affordability are all factors. The survey calls for Worcester to look to create better connections between graduates and local education.

“Worcester is home to an enviable source of economic potential,” said Tim McGourthy, Executive Director of The Research Bureau. “With more than 7,500 local college graduates each year, Worcester has an opportunity to capitalize on an endless brain trust to bring innovation and new economic activity into the city. The public and private sectors must work with the colleges and universities to engage students in the life of the city as soon as each student steps on campus.”

Internship Opportunities

The Worcester Chamber of Commerce is bringing a program to Worcester that has already seen a lot of success in other areas of Massachusetts.

The Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce has already implemented the InternHub website in Boston to a great amount of activity and success. Since launching in October of 2013, there have been more than 7,000 active internships on the website, with more than 5,000 students registered in the Boston area. Currently, there are nearly 1,000 active internships on the website, which shows the wealth of interest in the Boston area and beyond for internships.

“Intern Hub is an initiative designed to strengthen Massachusetts’ economy and its workforce,” said Paul Guzzi, President & CEO of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. “By connecting students and employers through internship opportunities, talented students are able to build their networks and begin their careers throughout the region and are therefore more likely to stay in Massachusetts after graduation. Simultaneously, employers are able to more easily find the talent they need to grow their business here.”