NECC PACE students visit with UMass Lowell Chancellor Marty Meehan.

A group of students from NECC’s PACE Program received VIP treatment during their visit to UMass Lowell last Friday.

 The students, who are all exploring the possibility of transferring to UMass Lowell, met Chancellor Marty Meehan while touring the campus. When he learned they were from NECC, Chancellor Meehan was delighted. He spent 10 minutes with the group sharing information about UMass Lowell and the importance of an associate degree, and also took time for a photo.

“The Chancellor said that he loves enrolling Northern Essex transfer students at UMass Lowell since they consistently excel academically,” said Kristen Arnold from the PACE Program.

Since being named chancellor of the university, Meehan has partnered with Northern Essex on many transfer initiatives. Two years ago, he announced that any community college graduate transferring to UMass Lowell with a 3.0 or better would receive free tuition, an approximately $1,500 savings.

From November of 2011 to October of 2012, 364 NECC grads transferred to UMass Lowell, more than to any other public or private college or university. The next most popular transfer institution was Southern New Hampshire University (71) followed by Salem State (63), and Merrimack College (48).

PACE is a federally funded Student Support Services Program which provides resources to help qualified students, most of whom are first generation, succeed at Northern Essex and transfer to a four-year college or university. For more information, visit the website.