Haverhill, MA (October 2, 2024) – The Northern Essex Community College Board of Trustees met on the Haverhill Campus on Wednesday, October 2. The meeting included updates on MassEducate, the exploration of a shared campus model for NECC and Whittier Tech., and ESOL offerings from the Center for Adult Education.

Education Report

National Adult Education and Family Literacy Week celebration in September

Across the state, more than 25,000 potential students are on waitlists for English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) courses. At Northern Essex, about 400 individuals are on the waitlist for free ESOL courses through the Center for Adult Education (CAE). CAE Executive Director Jacqueline Lynch told the board that sometimes, those potential students will have to wait two to three years to finally enroll.

“It’s very disheartening when students arrive so eager to learn and we have to tell them to wait,” said Lynch, noting that the current capacity for the classes is 150 students. CAE partners with other community organizations to make referrals and potentially get students into ESOL classes sooner. But, Lynch said, many prefer to take the classes at NECC. “Students who come to us want to go to college. So they wait.”

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education provides $750,000 across three grants to keep the programs tuition-free. The Mayor of Lawrence has also pledged $100,000 specifically to get Lawrence students into more classes. Currently, students representing 14 countries are enrolled in CAE courses. And they recently launched a chapter of the Adult Education Honor Society.

MassEducate Celebration

NECC President Lane Glenn shared that, earlier in the day, he attended the official launch celebration for MassEducate, the new program that makes community college free for eligible Massachusetts residents. The event took place at Mass Bay Community College in Framingham and featured Governor Maura Healey. Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll, Senate President Karen Spilka, Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler, Commissioner of Higher Education Noe Ortega, community college presidents, and students.

“The Governor estimates about 10,000 new students on campuses this year due to MassEducate and MassReconnect.” said Glenn. “We continue to see our numbers tick up as we approach the start of fall semester II at the end of this month.” Enrollment at NECC is currently up about 7% compared to last fall semester.

Shared Campus Model

President Glenn also provided a brief update on the exploration of a shared campus model for Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School on the Haverhill Campus of NECC. A series of public listening sessions is scheduled, with the first one occurring on October 8. The UMass Donahue Institute is facilitating the sessions.  To participate, individuals must provide contact information and availability; sessions will be held on Zoom, audio will be recorded, and participation will be confidential and voluntary.

“We’re hearing a lot of positive feedback. There’s a lot of work to be done, and we’re grateful for those helping us work through it,” shared Glenn.

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.