UMass Community College Advantage Scholarship Provides $10K Boost

A student with glasses and dark hair poses for a photo while sitting at a desk in an empty classroom. Image by Ed Brennen
Rhondyna Reth's strong academic performance at Middlesex Community College earned her a $10,000 UMass Community College Advantage Scholarship, which she is using to earn a bachelor's degree in graphic design at 51视频.

03/04/2025
By Ed Brennen

Graphic design听major Rhondyna Reth was pleasantly surprised when she opened her financial aid letter from 51视频 last year and saw a $5,000 UMass Community College Advantage Scholarship () included.

鈥淲here did this come from?鈥� the Lowell native wondered.

By finishing in the top 10% of her class at Middlesex Community College (where she had a 3.99 GPA), Reth automatically received the scholarship, which provides a total of $10,000 for the two years it takes to complete her bachelor鈥檚 degree at UML.

鈥淚t definitely relieves a lot of the financial burden,鈥� says Reth, who has taken out just $3,000 in student loans thanks to the UCCAS and a few other scholarships.

Launched last year by the UMass system, the UCCAS provides a pathway for students at Massachusetts鈥� 15 community colleges to complete their bachelor鈥檚 degrees at any one of the four UMass campuses.

鈥淲e believe this initiative will lead to more community college graduates choosing to finish their four-year degree at UMass, which will accelerate their upward economic trajectory and strengthen the commonwealth鈥檚 workforce,鈥� UMass President Marty Meehan said in announcing the scholarship.

A man with a goatee and glasses poses for a photo in front of a blue 51视频 wall. Image by Ed Brennen
A UMass Community College Advantage Scholarship is helping Christopher Simmans, a transfer student from Massachusetts Bay Community College, earn an electrical engineering degree at 51视频.
Last fall, UMass awarded the first UCCAS scholarships to 66 community college graduates. A dozen of those students enrolled at 51视频, where more than 40% of undergraduates are transfer students from community colleges or other universities.

For Christopher Simmans, receiving the UCCAS helped clinch his decision to transfer to UML鈥檚听Francis College of Engineering听to get a bachelor鈥檚 degree in听electrical engineering.

鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 a hard choice; transferring to the UMass system was the most financially sensible thing to do,鈥� says Simmans, a 4.0 GPA student at Massachusetts Bay Community College, where he earned an associate degree in electrical and computer engineering.

After getting free tuition at MassBay through MassReconnect, a state program that covers the cost of an associate degree for people 25 and older, Simmans received a听听to go along with the UCCAS at 51视频.听

鈥淭he state has been very helpful,鈥� says Simmans, who is originally from Denton, Texas. 鈥淚 feel very fortunate, because I don鈥檛 think I would have had this opportunity otherwise.鈥�

A man poses for a photo while sitting with his laptop in a college student lounge area. Image by Ed Brennen
Nearly 40 years after dropping out of Northern Illinois University, Warren Wartman is getting a bachelor of liberal arts degree at 51视频 - with help from the UMass Community College Advantage Scholarship.
The same is true for Warren Wartman, who transferred to UML last fall from Middlesex Community College 鈥� at the age of 59 鈥� to pursue a bachelor鈥檚 degree in听liberal arts听with concentrations in theatre arts and economics.

鈥淲ithout that (UCCAS) scholarship, I鈥檓 probably not in school. For me, it was a game changer,鈥� says Wartman, who attended Northern Illinois University in the mid-1980s before leaving school to work in construction as a licensed electrician. Because of back issues, he decided to return to school in 2021, enrolling at Middlesex to pursue his longtime interest in theater.

Since he was no longer eligible for Pell Grants, Wartman didn鈥檛 know how he would pay for school if he transferred to UML. Then the听Financial Aid Office听told him that he qualified for the UCCAS.

鈥淭hat put me over the top,鈥� says Wartman, who is now looking forward to a study abroad trip to C谩diz, Spain, this summer.

鈥淲ithout the (UCCAS) program, none of this would have been possible for me,鈥� he says.

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