Haverhill, MA (September 4, 2024) – The Northern Essex Community College Board of Trustees met for the first time of the ’24/25 academic year on the Haverhill Campus. The meeting included introducing the newest board member, Hikma Tunteiya Mohammed. Mohammed is the student trustee. She was elected by her peers in the spring and began her term on July 1. Originally from Ghana, Mohammed is an international student, dedicated to making an impact and advocating for all students.

“It’s not about the time you spend in a place, it’s the journey you go on while you’re there,” she told the board.

Education Report 

The fall semester is off to a promising start, as NECC Provost Paul Beaudin shared staggering enrollment figures. Enrollment is up across the board with increases of 8.5% in continuing students, 33.5% in new students, and 24.2% in students who transferred into NECC from other institutions compared with Fall 2023. Following the passage of MassEducate this summer, making community college free for many Massachusetts residents, Dr. Beaudin’s team spent more than 450 hours meeting with and enrolling students.

“Community college is valuable not because it’s free; but because it changes lives,” said Dr. Beaudin.

He also shared that enrollment in summer sessions was up 22% from the previous year. Many of those students are guest students: those enrolled full-time at other institutions but chose to take for-credit classes at NECC. They represented 75 different colleges and universities.

Report of the Administration

NECC President Lane Glenn shared updates including progress on the 5-year interim report due to the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) by August of next year. He also discussed progress on the exploration of a shared campus model with Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School and NECC. A kick-off meeting was held last week with key stakeholders, thought leaders, and administrators. President Glenn stressed that the process is still in its early stages and they expect to have more information available by the end of the year.

The Healey-Driscoll Adminstration announced the initial steps to explore a shared campus model in April. This partnership with NECC and WT will explore ways to create a new, modern facility for Whittier Tech, allow for expanded access to postsecondary education across northeastern Massachusetts, and increase enrollment capacity at both institutions. It will also open up new avenues for potential additional funding sources beyond cities and towns in the Merrimack Valley.

The NECC Board of Trustees includes nine members whom the governor of the state appoints to a maximum of two five-year terms, as well as an alumni-elected member, who also serves a maximum of ten years, and the student trustee who serves for two semesters. The next board meeting will be October 2 on the Haverhill Campus. A full list of meeting dates and more information about the Board of Trustees can be found on the webpage.