Bay Path University Named Among Nation’s Fastest-growing Colleges

LONGMEADOW — The Chronicle of Higher Education has recognized Bay Path University in its Almanac of Higher Education 2017 as one of the fastest-growing colleges in the U.S., currently ranked 17th in the category of “private nonprofit master’s institutions” with a 113.4% growth rate over a 10-year period. Bay Path was the only institution of higher education from Massachusetts on the list.

“This national recognition represents the commitment of talented faculty and staff who truly understand workforce needs and student interests,” university President Carol Leary said. “Our growth is based on three key factors: the different levels of education we provide; the variety of modalities we use in our learning environments, which include on-campus, online, and hybrid; and the continual diversification of our program offerings for both undergraduate and graduate students.”

With the opening of the Philip H. Ryan Health Science Center, Bay Path has seen significant growth in its applied health science degrees, including the master of occupational therapy, master of science in physician assistant studies, and master of science in genetic counseling, among others. In 2017, Bay Path opened a satellite campus in Concord, offering master’s programs in clinical mental health counseling, developmental psychology, special education administration, occupational therapy, and healthcare administration.

Data contained in the Almanac of Higher Education 2017 are based on fall enrollment of full- and part-time graduate and undergraduate students during the span of 2005-15, including students that are online-only. The report included all U.S. degree-granting institutions with at least 500 students in 2005. Published by the Chronicle of Higher Education, the annual Almanac of Higher Education is a comprehensive assessment of the higher-education industry. It contains more than 80 tables of data, among other data points, providing “a portrait of the nation’s multi-billion-dollar effort to educate more than 20 million undergraduate and graduate students.”