Page 24 - BusinessWest May 11, 2026

“We planned
and prepared
for this by
adding programs
students want and
employers need,
building endowed
scholarship
funding,
strengthening
support, and
making smart
financial moves to
keep us on solid
ground.”
Colleges >>Continued from page 22
arts foundation with real-world learning opportunities.
“Experiential learning is a core component of the stu-
dent experience. Nearly 100% of Elms undergraduate
students participate in experiential learning, including
internships, clinical placements, research, service learning,
and creative scholarship. Students engage in real-world
learning from day one,” she added, noting that these efforts
begin in the first semester with something called the Inno-
vation Challenge, which encourages students to work
together to find solutions to real-world problems.
“These initiatives lead to strong outcomes,” Miner said.
“Ninety-seven percent of students who completed our most
recent graduation survey reported that they are employed
or enrolled in a graduate program after leaving Elms.”
Even at the graduate and continuing education levels,
she noted, academic programs are tailored to meet the
needs of the evolving workforce.
“We have strong partnerships with employers, both
nationally and regionally, to ensure their current and future
employees have the education and training needed to suc-
ceed in a rapidly changing professional landscape, while
also informing program development,” Miner said, citing as
examples recently added programs like graduate degrees
in social work and applied behavior analysis, as well as an
online bachelor of social work degree. “These programs
are intentionally designed to align with workforce demand
and address critical shortages of care providers throughout
Massachusetts and New England.”
At Springfield-based AIC, Dodge agreed that colleges
that want to survive and thrive must focus on matching
their offerings to workforce needs.
“Maintaining an edge comes down to alignment. We are
continuing to align our academic programs with workforce
demand, particularly in high-need areas such as health sci-
ences, public service, and emerging fields like data analyt-
ics. We are also expanding flexible delivery models, includ-
ing online and accelerated formats, to meet students where
they are.
“Equally important is strengthening our pipeline,” he
added. “Partnerships with schools, transfer pathways, and
employer-aligned programs are helping us reach students
earlier and support them more effectively throughout their
journey. Finally, we are focused on clarity. Students want to
understand where a program leads and how quickly they
can get there.”
Focus on the Future
Both the Hampshire College and Anna Maria College
announcement letters noted that, for students unable to
complete their degrees, transfer agreements with part-
ner institutions are being created; indeed, AIC, Elms,
and MCLA all announced such partnerships and outlined
ways to smoothly transfer displaced students to their own
communities.
“At AIC, the focus is on being both responsive and
intentional,” Dodge said. “In the immediate term, that has
meant acting quickly to support students ... by creating
clear, student-centered pathways that allow them to con-
tinue their education with minimal disruption. The priority
has been reducing uncertainty and providing stability dur-
ing a challenging moment.”
Added Miner, “at Elms College, we have the resources
and support systems in place to provide a seamless transi-
tion so students can stay focused on achieving their aca-
demic and professional goals within a caring and support-
ive environment.”
In the meantime, Birge said MCLA will take the appro-
priate lessons from the closings and continue to focus on
ways to move forward as the demographic landscape con-
tinues to evolve.
“We planned and prepared for this by adding programs
students want and employers need, building endowed
scholarship funding, strengthening support, and mak-
ing smart financial moves to keep us on solid ground,” he
added. “Challenges ahead? Of course. But I like where we
stand.” BW
JAMES BIRGE
UMass >>Continued from page 23
— like polar bears — and Aragón, who has long worked at the commu-
nity scale to tell the story of climate change, teamed with Kim, who is an
expert in modeling architectural designs for energy usage.
The team initially thought of a building blanket, but ultimately what
they designed and tested looks much more like jewelry: a series of
removable tiles or panels that can be hung on any surface, which not
only conduct the sun’s warmth, but insulate the building.
The key is a photothermal dye that Andrew invented. “We can put this
dye on anything,” she said. “It doesn’t have to be on an expensive fabric.
We chose to test it on umbrella fabric — something that was rugged and
robust but still affordable.”
When they modeled their design, the results were eye-popping. “We
saw up to a 15% decrease in energy costs for a residential building in a
northern climate, like Massachusetts,” Andrew noted, “and up to 23%
reduction in a large, 16-story apartment building.”
By comparison, a well-done traditional home renovation might yield a
2% reduction in energy costs.
These panels could even be sold as do-it-yourself projects that any
renter could complete. The team imagines a scenario where people head
to their local hardware store, buy a roll of the fabric and a few 2x4s, and,
in an afternoon, have a cheap and effective way of helping to heat their
homes.
“Because the heart of this technology is a dye, we can use it to make
panels that are beautiful and blend in with the specific culture and aes-
thetics of an area,” Aragón said. “It’s important to get the architectural
“Because the heart of this technology is a dye, we can
use it to make panels that are beautiful and blend in
with the specific culture and aesthetics of an area. It’s
important to get the architectural and aesthetic part
of this right, in addition to the science.”
and aesthetic part of this right, in addition to the science.”
But before consumers rush out to ask for the miracle fabric, the team
needs to conduct additional, real-world testing. Though they’ve proven
the concept in the lab, they need more data and field tests with life-sized
prototypes.
“This could have an enormously beneficial societal impact,” Andrew
said, and Aragón agreed, noting, “there’s a role for anything that is
empowering at the individual scale.”
The research appears in the journal ACS Applied Engineering Materi-
als. BW
24 << EDUCATION >>
MAY 11, 2026
Business W est