Carolyn Bassett

Carolyn Bassett is the Associate Provost for Student Success at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She has led the central Undergraduate Student Success unit since 2018 creating a range of campus-wide infrastructures, programs, and practices designed to increase student persistence and thriving and build a more equitable student experience. In partnership with this team and their UMass success network across eleven colleges and student affairs, she leads high-impact and intervention initiatives including financial education, first-year living-learning communities, first-year seminar instructor support, academic advisor professional development, academic alert, health promotion and well-being efforts, and first-generation college student and transfer student support. She currently serves on multidisciplinary teams expanding intergroup dialog, flexible learning options, degree completion funding, and academic success coaching. Carolyn is a 2018 recipient of the UMass Amherst Chancellor’s Citation Award.

Throughout her many years in higher education, Carolyn has prioritized active collaborations that build bridges between academic affairs and student affairs and help demystify the college experience for students and families. She has held positions in policy and program development, academic advising, international student services, new student programs, STEM and pre-health career development, campus crisis response, support for students with learning disabilities, and admissions. Carolyn earned her B.A. in Political Science from Bates College and her M.A. in Higher Education Administration and Student Development from Boston College.