It is common knowledge that Olin’s biology and chemistry offerings alone are not sufficient for most students interested in designing a useful, marketable Biomedical Engineering (E:Bio) degree. For this reason, many students who wish to become E:Bios also try to take Wellesley biology and chemistry classes; these classes are extremely valuable because they offer training which Olin simply does not provide. Brandeis is also an option, but is much farther away and harder to get to, as there is no shuttle.

These E:Bio students face a major challenge: Wellesley science classes fill up very quickly, and the professors are often unable to offer additional slots for cross-registering students. Due to this scarcity, many E:Bio students take Olin technical classes, snap up a Wellesley science when they can, and call it a degree. It works, but barely – it’s always a scramble to find science courses which are relevant. These E:Bio students just don’t have access to the biology or chemistry courses they need. 

For this problem, I propose a solution: Cross-registration with MassBay Community College (MassBay). I have taken multiple classes there, and believe that it could help with this fundamental problem of E:Bios having trouble taking biology or chemistry. 

MassBay has the full traditional chemistry sequence for health professions (General Chemistry 1 & 2, Organic Chemistry 1 & 2, and Biochemistry), and also offers biology classes (Biology 1 & 2, Anatomy and Physiology, various Biotechnology offerings, etc.). An Olin student interested in E:Bio could take introductory science classes at MassBay and then go to advanced 200 or 300-level Wellesley science courses later; these more advanced courses at Wellesley tend to have more open spots. 

Massbay is not a nationally renowned institution like Wellesley, but it still provides an effective education. The class sizes are small (10-30 students), and the professors are there to teach, not do research or anything else. I have taken Chemistry 1 and 2, along with Organic Chemistry 1, at Massbay and have felt that I have gained a level of training which transfers well over to my Wellesley Organic Chemistry 2 class. 

As an institution which caters to both traditional students and working professionals, MassBay offers classes in a range of times which open up opportunities for many students. They have night classes, summer classes, and others, meaning that Olin students who often struggle with fitting Wellesley courses into their schedules may have more flexibility with MassBay ones. 

While there are clear benefits that cross-registration with MassBay could have for Olin E:Bio students, such a partnership could also have benefits for students beyond E:Bios. (Two of Massbay’s offerings which I noted as personally interesting were their EMT course and their car mechanic training progression: if you understand how to fix something, you will have better knowledge of how to design it in the future.) This cross-registration would also have distinct benefits for Massbay students. 

First off, Olin’s unique application-based classes (SoftDes, Collaborative Design, Mech Proto, Comp Arch, Fun Robo, etc.) could offer an opportunity to these students to take courses beyond the scope of their MassBay curriculum.

Additionally, the unusual contexts of both institutions could be expanded to enable Massbay students to transfer to Olin without starting again in freshman year. Transfer students are required to start again in freshman year because Olin’s educational system is too distinct from traditional institutions for someone to just jump in midway. However, a MassBay student who has taken a good number of Olin classes might be able to transfer into second or third year right out of the gate. Olin typically loses a student or two in freshman year (99% retention rate still means one person leaves!), so this transfer student could take their place. 

Here are my thoughts around how a cross-registration agreement with MassBay could be reasonably arranged: 

Olin students would be allowed to take MassBay courses after the completion of their first year at Olin. Similarly, MassBay pre-engineering and pre-biology/chemistry/biotechnology students would be allowed to take Olin classes in their second year of enrollment as an upper-level elective. This way, both MassBay and Olin students would be incentivized to explore the offerings of their own institutions before branching out. 

Oliner credit distribution for courses taken at MassBay would be decided exactly the same as it is for other cross-registered courses. Olin classes taken by MassBay students would count for engineering or science elective credit. 

Olin students would have to arrange their own transportation to MassBay, and vice versa. This would be considerably simpler than with Brandeis—MassBay already supports its students in getting to the institution through Ubers and a shuttle, and it is also a reasonable-ish (20-30 minute) bike ride away. 

Olin would follow a compensation agreement for coursework similar to that which it has with the other members of the BBOW group.

I believe that an arrangement following these guidelines could absolutely be actionable and would enable students from both institutions to reap benefits. 

This article is something I’ve been mulling over for a few weeks, and I’d love to hear your opinions on it. If you have any thoughts about this idea, please feel free to find me around campus (I’m Sammy Socol; you can look me up in the student directory) or email me at ssocol@olin.edu.

*Two of Massbay’s offerings which I noted as personally interesting were their EMT course and their car mechanic training progression: if you understand how to fix something, you will have better knowledge of how to design it in the future.