Chris Reber, President, Hudson County Community College

Chris Reber, president of Hudson County Community College, spoke with Invest: about the college’s many awards, its commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and the different programs in place to help students afford tuition and succeed on their educational and career paths. “Most of our students pay nothing out-of-pocket for tuition or fees because we have an array of financial aid tools we can bring to them,” he said.

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What were some key highlights or achievements for Hudson County Community College in the past 12 months?

The college has been on an upward trajectory of excellence in every part of the institution. We’ve been recognized locally, statewide, and nationally for best practice work, which centers around our two overarching priorities. The first is student success and using data and best practices to remove barriers that prevent students from achieving their goals. Diversity, equity, and inclusion is key, and we leverage our rich diversity to achieve higher levels of excellence. 

We have seen substantial progress in student retention outcomes in the last six years and have had three consecutive record graduating classes. Our Hudson Scholars program has received multiple national awards, such as the Bellwether College Consortium Award. Hudson Scholars won the annual award two years ago, and last year, it won the Legacy award, which is awarded to only one community college once every five years. We’ve also won the American Association of Community College’s Student Success Award of Excellence, a singular award they give each year for a program that is designed to support students. This past year, we won their Faculty of the Year award and the Outstanding CEO of the Year award.

What role does HCCC play in establishing a safe space for DEI in the region?

We’re nationally recognized as a leader in promoting equity. We have won annual awards from Insight Into Diversity magazine in multiple categories. They call it the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity award. We were named by Insight Into Diversity as a diversity champion, which is the first time they recognized a community college with the award.

We serve one of the most diverse communities of students in the nation. Eighty-seven percent of our students are non-white. Fifty-six percent are Latino. Eighty percent of our students are the first in their families to pursue a college degree. They come from low-income families. Over half of our students experience housing insecurity, food insecurity, or homelessness. Many of our students are working full-time while attending school full-time. Thirty percent of our students are parents, and many of them are young, single parents. Over 1,000 of our students are enrolled in English as a second language. 

How would you analyze the progress that has been made in keeping education affordable for students?

Our students have many financial challenges. There is a misunderstanding of the financial challenge in the four-year college sector compared to the community college sector. We have the highest proportion of students in New Jersey who receive Pell funding, and the largest number receiving the Community College Opportunity Grant. 

Most of our students pay nothing out-of-pocket for tuition or fees because we have an array of financial aid tools we can bring to them. We can get students fully funded. But our students’ financial challenges are acute with respect to their personal life needs. That’s where our students may be disproportionately affected in comparison to many four-year schools, and even within the community college sector, given our comprehensive urban mission and service areas. Our students are really struggling to pay their rent, feed their kids, and make bill payments on time. 

During the pandemic, we used millions of dollars of federal stimulus funds to provide emergency funding for our students, and we continue to provide this funding assistance if a student has an emergency issue, without many strings attached. We don’t expect it to be paid back because we know that’s going to make the difference between students continuing their education and not finishing. Traditionally, in higher education, that isn’t seen as our responsibility, but we do see it as our responsibility because we’re an open-access institution dedicated to meeting students where they are and helping them get to the finish line. 

We measure the returns on these investments through the long-term retention of the institution. We have found that taking educated risks up front, investing in Hudson Scholars, and hiring academic mentors with low caseloads to help students – those investments are being returned through the enhanced revenue that comes with increased retention rates.

How is the construction of the Center for Student Success going? 

We’re under construction right now for a $100 million, 11-story Center for Student Success that is fully funded. We’re graduating record classes each year. The future looks bright for our students and institution, and we are committed to continuous improvement and getting better and better in the service of our mission. In that regard, we have just finished our new five-year strategic plan to help us get to the next level of excellence. 

What are the biggest challenges in the regional education landscape, and how is HCCC addressing these?

HCCC’s challenges are related to the challenges of the students and community we serve. It’s expensive to have an open-access mission in areas like ours that have a high cost of living. With a growing population comes growing gentrification and issues with homelessness and poverty. 

We need to be focused on continually evaluating the programs we offer and ensuring they are up to date and refined to keep pace with changes in the workforce, economy, and technology. For example, we have an AI credential in development, and we have been developing programs like construction management, advanced manufacturing, and data science. We provide the skill sets and training to allow our students to benefit from new employment opportunities. 

What opportunities for growth do you see for Hudson County Community College in the next two to three years?

We are developing a new athletics program. Given our location in an urban landscape, we don’t have a traditional campus, and it’s been difficult for us to have an athletics program. The Center for Student Success will have a full gymnasium and wellness center, and we are developing 10 new varsity sports that will begin when the center opens in fall 2026. 

The program will be designed around our Student Success agenda. We’re creating partnerships with four-year schools to enhance the student experience as they transfer from our community college to four-year schools. We were part of a grant-funded national, year-long transfer intensive that was offered to two- and four-year schools. We developed a model for transfer that includes working with each of our senior partner institutions to create seamless academic pathways that include 60 credits at HCCC and 60 credits at the partnering institution. 

For example, students can plan their baccalaureate and graduate journey by starting at HCCC and moving on to NJCU, saving money at Hudson knowing all of their credits will transfer. We hire academic coaches and mentors who stay with the students at both institutions. When our Center for Student Success opens, it will include a University Center with dedicated classroom and office space for our senior institution partners. This will allow them to bring their baccalaureate programs here so our students can stay at HCCC and complete their entire baccalaureate program, rather than having to acclimate to a different institution and culture.