City of Boston Tries to Keep Students Here for the Summer

 Summer vacation is right around the corner for students at the nearly 100 colleges and universities in the Greater Boston area. Approximately 250,000 college students attend these schools, and, after final exams, many will leave the city limits. The city endures a significant population and economy drop at the conclusion of the academic year due to the absence of these college students.

Students contribute an estimated $4.8 billion to the city's economy annually through tuition and spending in the community, according to the 2008 edition of the New World Encyclopedia. Universities are some of the largest employers of the area, as well.

Other than adding to the city's revenue, students and faculty spend hundreds of thousands of hours volunteering throughout the city. In fact, Boston College alone contributes 444,000 hours of community service, annually, according to BC's 2009 Benefits and Economic Impact Report. BC enrolls approximately 14,500 students, including undergraduate, graduate, and law school students, and employs 3,500 faculty and staff. The report said that BC impacts the regional economy by an estimated $1.3 billion.

BC is one of the smaller universities in the area. Larger colleges and universities within the Greater Boston area include Boston University, Northeastern, Harvard, and UMass Boston, all of which have similar economic impact figures. There are many small private universities, including Emerson College, Simmons College, and Wheelock College, that serve the downtown area, as well.

The City of Boston recognizes the influence of academia on the city's economy, said Tim Sweeney, director of Public Policy at the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, in an e-mail.

"Greater Boston's colleges and universities are the lifeblood of our economy, attracting top students from across the globe to our region," Sweeney said. "During the school year, students participate in internships and co-op programs, volunteer in the community, bolster our residential real estate market, and support our local vendors and service providers. All of this helps to support our economy and keep our neighborhoods active and vibrant. During summer break, there's an inevitable decline in these activities."

As students reach their junior year, there are more incentives to stay in the Boston area for the summer. BC students often live off campus during their junior year in houses with yearlong leases, keeping them in Boston for the summer prior to their senior year. Some BC students also do research, obtain jobs, or take classes for academic credit. 
Natalie Thomas, A&S '12, who is from San Diego, Calif., went back to California last summer to work as a camp counselor. As a rising junior, however, she wanted to have the opportunity to take classes outside her major, so she decided to return to BC for part of the summer, she said.

"I'm staying on campus for six weeks this summer to take classes to free up my schedule for next semester," Thomas said. "I am really excited to spend more time at BC for this time and will probably be back next summer as well."

Not every university offers as many opportunities to stay in the area. The Chamber of Commerce  is in the process of working with the city as a whole to create universal options for students, Sweeney said.

"In order to keep more students here, both during summer break and after graduation, the Chamber is partnering with the Boston Federal Reserve Bank to strengthen business-academia ties and promote internship and job opportunities for our region's students," Sweeney said.