Fall 2013 Enrollment Report

Northern Essex has more students this fall but they’re taking fewer credits, according to President Lane Glenn. There are 7352 students attending Northern Essex this fall: 40 more than last fall. But our full time equivalency—which measures enrollment in full-time figures—is down 1.5 percent from 4482 last fall to 4413 this fall.

“This is largely a function of the improving economy,” said Glenn. “Students are working more so have less time to take classes.”

Professor Produces Video during his Sabbatical

Professor Jorge Santiago believes that if faculty and staff have an understanding of the cultural backgrounds of their students, they will be better able to meet their educational needs. That’s why he spent his recent sabbatical developing a 24-minute multi-media video for Northern Essex faculty and staff that provides cultural background on our Hispanic students, which represent one-third of the college’s enrollment.

At the trustees’ meeting, Santiago shared the first few minutes of the video which emphasized the importance of “la familia.” Calling family “the pillar of the Hispanic culture”, Santiago explained that family might often come before schoolwork, and that faculty and staff need to recognize this when communicating with their Hispanic students.

The video will be shared as part of the new employee orientation and it will also be available to faculty and staff to review as often as needed. For more information, contact Santiago, jsantiago@necc.mass.edu.

Lawrence Campus Update

Completion of the El Hefni Health & Technology Center is right on track, according to President Lane Glenn. The college will move in late November, classes are scheduled to start in January, and a grand opening is planned for mid-March.

Four-twenty Common Street which will house classrooms, a bank, a bookstore, a Sal’s restaurant, and space for four-year university partners is also moving forward and should be fully operational by January.

Work on the parking and green space located on the site of the former Registry Building, which was torn down earlier this year, is scheduled to begin in November. When completed, this space will add 62 parking spaces.

Trustees Approve Revised College Budget

Trustees unanimously approved a revised FY2014 college budget of $41.1 million, which is $1.9 million less than the close to $43.3 million budget they had approved at the June meeting.

A decrease in actual state support, a rescinded general student fee increase, and projected slight decrease in the credit hour enrollment based on lower FTE’s drove the revision.

President Glenn explained that the college was able to make up the reductions by retaining the interest on the college’s investments rather than investing the interest and reducing the college’s contingency fund. “We don’t like to do either of these two things, but we felt it was the best way to balance the budget.”

Trustees Appoint Plumber/Steamfitter

There was only one personnel action at the October Trustee meeting when trustees voted unanimously to appoint Steven Fieldhouse as plumber/steamfitter I in the maintenance area.