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 |
| Halina Adams | Bridgewater State University | honorsprogram@bridgew.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 |
| Tom Schaefer | Cape Cod Community College | tschaefer@capecod.edu |
| Emma Downs | Fitchburg State University | honors@fitchburgstate.edu |
| Gregory Halford | 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 |
| David LaFountain | Massasoit Community College | DLaFontaine@massasoit.mass.edu |
| Hannah Hayes | Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts | hannah.haynes@mcla.edu |
| Mohamad Junaid | Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts | mohamad.junaid@mcla.edu |
| Kate Baker | Middlesex Community College | bakerk@middlesex.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 |
| Sheila Victorin | Roxbury Community College | svictorin@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 Sackett-Taylor | 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