Lane Glenn, President, Northern Essex Community College

In the interview with Invest:, President Lane Glenn of Northern Essex Community College highlighted the college’s significant achievement of becoming New England’s first federally designated Hispanic-serving institution. Glenn also discussed the launch of the nation’s first competency-based early childhood education degree.

What significant achievements emerged for Northern Essex Community College this past year?

Northern Essex Community College, as New England’s first federally designated Hispanic-serving institution, hit some critical milestones this past year. Notably, half of our students are now Hispanic, mostly from the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Central and South America, which is a significant achievement for us.

We also became the first U.S. college to offer an early childhood education degree entirely through competency-based education. With the growing need for childcare providers, this approach allows us to speed up their training, gaining us national attention.

Additionally, our police education program, second only to Boston, became the first in the region to offer ABLE training (Active Bystander for Law Enforcement), which is crucial in the wake of the George Floyd tragedy and police reforms.

At a time when many colleges are cutting back on athletics, we’ve invested in our programs, using them as powerful recruitment and retention tools. As a result, we’ve become a Top 30 college nationally, with several of our sports teams in Top 10 contention.

How have MassReconnect and MassEducate programs impacted your student demographics, and how is the college adapting to growing demand?

It’s an interesting time for community colleges in Massachusetts. We pushed for Gov. Maura Healy to include MassReconnect in her campaign, and it has revived adult enrollment across the state’s 15 community colleges, a group that had been declining for a decade due to high employment rates and economic conditions. At Northern Essex, we saw a 12% increase in students over 25 in just one year.

With MassEducate, offering free community college to all residents without a degree, our fall enrollment has jumped by 20%. This shift is significant, especially after years of declining enrollments. It’s making a big impact on lower-income students, first-generation college goers, and the regional workforce.

What makes Northern Essex Community College a place where both students and faculty want to be?

A key characteristic of our college is our significant Hispanic student population. We have the largest proportion of Hispanic students of any college in New England and were the first federally designated Hispanic-serving institution in the region. At least half the people you encounter on campus are bilingual, which is vital for us.

Our campuses are in two of Massachusetts’ gateway cities, with rich industrial histories but lower-income populations and educational attainment. Our mission is to elevate these communities by increasing the number of residents with college degrees. In Massachusetts, where half of adults hold a degree, the highest rate in the country, having one is crucial for securing a good-paying job. Without it, affording a family, buying a house, or getting health insurance becomes challenging.

We serve everyone, admitting all who seek education, and guide them toward certificates, degrees, or credentials that are valuable in fields like healthcare, science and biotechnology, education, business, and criminal justice. These areas offer strong entry-level opportunities, and they are our specialties.

How do you ensure Northern Essex Community College meets the demands of industry?

Staying aligned with workforce needs is essential. Every few years, we collaborate with other community colleges and regional workforce boards to update labor blueprints. Recently, we completed this process, and fields like healthcare, life sciences, and small manufacturing, especially medical devices, remain consistent priorities in our region.

We also adapt to emerging sectors. For example, we’ve added degrees in marketing and communications to meet the growing demand in professional and technical services. Human services are another area of increasing need, especially for mental health services post-COVID. We’ve even developed a new certificate for professionals working with children and trauma.

Employer feedback and labor blueprints guide our curriculum development, helping us meet current demands and anticipate future needs.

How do you view the strength of higher education in the region?

Massachusetts is highly educated, with world-renowned universities like Harvard, Tufts, MIT, and UMass Amherst. However, higher education in America faces growing skepticism, rising costs, concerns about campus ideologies, and questions about whether colleges still support free expression or lean toward indoctrination.

Community colleges like ours aren’t Harvard, and that’s largely a good thing. Our students are often balancing work, family, and other responsibilities. One of our biggest challenges is keeping education affordable. Programs like MassReconnect and MassEducate help with tuition and fees, but students still face many other costs. For our lowest-income students, tuition was already covered by Pell Grants. The real challenge is addressing high living costs, including housing, food security, childcare, and transportation, critical needs we must better address.

What technological advancements is Northern Essex Community College incorporating into the curriculum or to create more efficient learning?

We were the first U.S. college to offer a competency-based education degree, and we’re expanding that. We use hybrid education, which combines in-person classes with asynchronous online learning and sometimes synchronous Zoom sessions. This approach existed before COVID but expanded significantly afterward. The technology behind hybrid education helps us make better use of our facilities, optimize staffing, and provide flexible learning options. We’re continuing to refine these hybrid options as we expand competency-based education into fields like healthcare and criminal justice. It’s been a game-changer for efficient facility use and effective instruction.

What are your top priorities for the college over the next two to three years?

With the enrollment growth from MassReconnect and MassEducate, our top priority is ensuring student services keep up. Offering free tuition is one thing, but we also need resources for tutoring, advising, mental health counseling, and basic needs support. After years of declining enrollment, it’s a positive challenge to now focus on serving a growing student population.

We’re also prioritizing skills-based hiring and re-credentialing. We’re auditing all our degrees and certificates to ensure they align with workforce needs, based on skills employers seek. We’re ensuring each program includes a work-based learning component, like internships or clinical experiences, which is crucial for our students to secure their first job and succeed in their careers.

While community colleges aren’t Harvard, that’s largely a good thing. Massachusetts has over 100 public and private institutions, but community colleges are unique with open admissions and affordability. We’re intensely focused on local workforce needs, as most of our students stay within a half-hour of campus for their entire lives. They study here, work here, and raise families here, we’re intensely local, and that’s what makes us special.