In June 1997, the Board of Higher Education established Commonwealth College (later called Commonwealth Honors College after a name change in 2010), a free-standing honors college of distinction at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. In addition, the Board of Higher Education approved the development of an integrated network of Commonwealth Honors Programs throughout the public higher education system under the leadership of Commonwealth Honors College.
The Board of Higher Education has approved the following Commonwealth Honors Programs
Students interested in seeking admissions or transfer into these programs should contact the college for requirements. Just click on the link to any of the colleges above to locate the program coordinator's contact information or find the coordinator's list here:
| CHP Coordinator | Institution | Contact |
|---|---|---|
| Chris Laney | Berkshire Community College | claney@berkshirecc.edu |
| Dr. Ellen Scheible | Bridgewater State University | honorsprogram@bridgew.edu |
| Jenny Shanahan | Bridgewater State University | jshanahan@bridgew.edu |
| Kimberly Newton | Bristol Community College | Kimberly.Newton@bristolcc.edu |
| Donica O'Malley | Bunker Hill Community College | chp@bhcc.edu |
| Kate Martin (CHC Site Visit Coordinator) | Cape Cod Community College | kmartin@capecod.edu |
| Catherine Buell (CHC Budget Officer) | Fitchburg State University | honors@fitchburgstate.edu |
| Emma Downs | Fitchburg State University | honors@fitchburgstate.edu |
| Gregory Halfond | Framingham State University | ghalfond@framingham.edu |
| Jessica Hill | Holyoke Community College | honorsprogram@hcc.edu |
| Perry Beardsley | MassBay Community College | pbeardsley@massbay.edu |
| Jason Mazaik | MassBay Community College | jmazaik@massbay.edu |
| Panteha Sanati-Zaker | Massasoit Community College | psanatiza@massasoit.mass.edu |
| Hannah Haynes | Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts | hannah.haynes@mcla.edu |
| Mohamad Junaid | Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts | mohamad.junaid@mcla.edu |
| Binnur Ercem | Middlesex Community College | ERCEMB@middlesex.edu |
| Kara Roche | Mount Wachusett Community College | k_roche@mwcc.mass.edu |
| Ginger Hurajt | Northern Essex Community College | ghurajt@necc.mass.edu |
| William Jackson | North Shore Community College | wjackson@northshore.edu |
| Jean Kennedy | Quinsigamond Community College | jkennedy@qcc.mass.edu |
| Jason Laguna | Roxbury Community College | jlaguna@rcc.mass.edu |
| Kimberly Poitevin | Salem State University | kpoitevin@salemstate.edu |
| John Diffley | Springfield Technical Community College | jjdiffley@stcc.edu |
| Mari Castañeda | University of Massachusetts- Amherst | dean@honors.umass.edu |
| Dominick Usher | University of Massachusetts- Amherst | dusher@umass.edu |
| Len Von Morzé (interim) | University of Massachusetts- Boston | Leonard.VonMorze@umb.edu |
| Amy Shapiro | University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth | ashapiro@umassd.edu |
| Jenifer Whitten-Woodring (CHC Chair) | University of Massachusetts- Lowell | jenifer_whittenwoodring@uml.edu |
| Hillary M. Sackett-Taylor | Westfield State University | hsacketttaylor@westfield.ma.edu |
| Juliet Lee | Westfield State University | honors@westfield.ma.edu |
| Nicole Rosa | Worcester State University | nrosa@worcester.edu |
In order to begin a new Commonwealth Honors program, public higher education institutions must complete and submit the information outlined in the following documents:
Academic Program Approval: Public InstitutionsAcademic Program Approval: Independent & Out-of-State InstitutionsPCIPP Approval for Criminal Justice ProgramsConnect @MassDHE
Approval Process Guidelines, Revised March 2022