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Date: 3/18/2022
ENFIELD, CT – For the past half-century, Asnuntuck Community College (ACC) has been providing a place for people to earn their associates degrees. Despite changing over time to evolve with the world and the industries that are seeking skilled labor, the college has continued to offer a welcoming place to learn.
Beginning as North Central Community College in 1969, ACC was renamed in 1972 for the nearby Asnuntuck River – Asnuntuck means “fresh water” in the local Podunk Native American language. After outgrowing two former Enfield locations, Asnuntuck found its current home at 170 Elm St., the site of a former junior high school.
There were originally 32 degrees available. Now, ACC offers over 75 associates degrees and certifications in the areas of business and hospitality, health, manufacturing, social and behavioral sciences, education and public service and science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). There are also degrees available in humanities and creative arts, as well as non-credit options in healthcare and personal services licensure careers.
Nurturing
Today’s ACC campus has been expanded and updated since its days as a junior high school. A new lobby, a formal conference center and second-floor conference room in which student organizations meet, opened in 2017. In 2019, a patio area was created. These areas, as well as the Veterans’ Oasis and game room, are designed to create spaces to do homework and have a comfortable place to relax between classes.
“We want people to stay on campus,” said Julie Cotnoir, College Career Pathways coordinator and Public Relations director. “We want students to feel welcome, to say, ‘This is somewhere I want to be.’” She said the word “nurture” is in the college’s mission statement and it has taken that mandate to heart.
To that end, ACC offers various amenities for their students. ACC has a large advising department. Pathway advisors help students decide which area of education they are interested in and stay on track throughout their time at the school. “It’s helpful to stay focused and find out what they’re passionate about,” Cotnoir said.
ACC CEO Michelle Coach said, “We want to make sure [students] get their math and English in the first two years.” From there, the advisors guide students in their chosen field. It is the only community college in Connecticut to have a broadcasting radio station with original content, WACC 107.7. The station is student-run with help from Adam Rivers, an on-air personality from KC101. Cotnoir said it was “very helpful to broadcast information,” during the pandemic.
The college has an on-campus childcare co-operative known as the “Children’s Reading Room.” Students who volunteer for two hours per week can have unlimited use of the center for their own childcare needs.
Alpha Lambda Zeta is ACC’s chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, an international college honor society. Students who are eligible for scholarships are recruited to the society. Coach is the New England Regional Coordinator of Phi Theta Kappa.
Day and night classes are available so students can attend on a schedule that suits their needs. There is also a Saturday program through Elms College in which ACC graduates can take Elms College classes on ACC’s campus where they are comfortable.
“We’ve strengthened a lot of connections,” between students and within the community, Coach said.
Another connection ACC has made is to the correctional facilities in the area. There are 142 individuals in the facilities in the area getting ready to re-enter society, and Coach said the “Second Chance Pell” program allows them to take classes and better equip themselves for that transition. “The success they’ve found has been great,” she said. While the classes are live, remote instruction now, Coach said she is looking forward to in-person instruction for these students.
Affordable
Through the state “Pledge to Advance CT” (PACT) program, Connecticut’s community colleges are free to in-state high school graduates, provided the student has not attended another institution of higher learning in the meantime.
“Our legislators are supportive of community colleges,” Coach said.
“Why waste $30-, $40-, $50,000 a year,” when student can receive their associate degrees for free, Coach asked.
Massachusetts students are even encouraged to attend Connecticut’s community colleges and can do so for in-state prices. “Dare to cross the line,” Cotnoir remarked.
Manufacturing
There is also a staff member at the college that works with businesses in the areas of mechatronics, welding and additive manufacturing. It can cost between $500 and $1,000 for someone to receive a certification form the American Welding Society (AWS), but through ACC and the PACT program, students can earn it for free.
ACC has long had a manufacturing program. An entire wing of the main building is devoted to manufacturing majors and students have been able to study welding and electronics there. In recent years, the college has invested in expanding areas of expertise as well as the facilities for manufacturing students. In 2017, the college built a 27,000 square-foot manufacturing building.
The classrooms for the manufacturing areas are set up to resemble real-world workplaces. Cotnoir said this gives students a level of comfort when transitioning out of college.
When it comes to additive manufacturing, commonly known as 3-D printing, Cotnoir said of the program. “It allows them to be so creative. They can print almost anything.”
The college has created relationships with local manufacturing businesses and offers paid internships. Cotnoir said the existing manufacturing workforce is largely retiring and the industry is looking for workers. She said 90 percent of graduates of ACC’s manufacturing programs become employed in the industry shortly after graduation.
Educating the Next Generation
The manufacturing facilities also offer opportunities for young people. During the summer, middle and high schoolers can attend programs on robotics, welding and additive manufacturing, otherwise known as 3-D printing, including 3-D printing a rocket that can be fired.
There are other opportunities of which Connecticut students can take advantage. The “College Connections” program allows high school student in their junior and senior years to earn college credit. “If you have a certain GPA, you can take one class per semester in your junior and senior years,” Coach explained, “get your English done, get your math done.”
Pandemic Recovery
As higher education recovers from the disruption of the pandemic, ACC currently has 60 percent of its students attending in-person classes and expects that number to rise to 70 percent in the fall.
Coach explained that despite shutting down in March 2020, manufacturing students came back in June of that year to make personal protective equipment (PPE), adapters for ventilators and other required equipment.
Other hands-on programs required students to return to the campus, such as those in dental assistance and cosmetology. Coach said the college was “very strict,” requiring masks, social distancing and frequent sanitizing of spaces. There are still hand sanitizing stations on campus and masks are still used throughout campus.
“We’re up in enrollment,” Coach said of the college. She expects more students to return in the semesters ahead as the pandemic continues to ease.
The Future
ACC recently adopted a Master Plan that calls for the addition of more labs for allied health and sciences. Coach said these additions, “would open up opportunities.” Coach said the college is always looking to adapt to the needs of the industries students are studying to join. For example, there is a strong presence of aerospace employers in the area, so the college is examining how they can fill this need.
Coach also said the college still has room to grow. There is space for more students in the manufacturing and health careers, as well as the in the non-credit programs, such as cosmetology and nail technicians. She added that criminal justice and early childhood are seeing a shortage of people entering those fields.
In 2023, Connecticut’s 12 community colleges will merge into a network under the name Connecticut State Community College. ACC will become Connecticut State Community College Asnuntuck. While controversial, Coach said the education will become more “harmonized.”
To learn more about ACC, visit https://asnuntuck.edu.