Winsted, CT – November 8, 2021— Northwestern Connecticut Community College’s (NCCC) Director of Academic Success Center, Laura McCarthy and Provost of Charter Oak State College, Dr. Dave Ferreira, have published an article in the Community College Journal of Research and Practice, entitled, “Recommendations for Community Colleges in a Post-COVID-19 World: What Worked, What Did Not and Assorted Commentary on Lessons Learned in One Community College.” The article explores the successes and challenges that students, faculty, and staff endured during the COVID-19 pandemic. The college offered faculty training in online pedagogy and provided students a variety of resources such as laptops, food, and Wi-Fi hotspots, to keep them progressing in classes. These efforts were effective as enrollment at NCCC was the strongest in Connecticut, the online courses did not exacerbate underlying racial gaps, and course pass rates had minimal decreases. Frequent communication from college leadership assisted in the successful roll out of all innovations. The implications of this study could be used to highlight the new needs of community college students in a post-COVID world.

“Achieving these results meant that all areas of the college needed to transform how they were educating students. The innovation demonstrated by the NCCC faculty, staff, and administration was exemplary. And the ability of our students to persist, while supporting their families, employers, and community, is unparalleled,” said current Dean of Academic and Student Affairs, Jay Whitaker. “We are incredibly proud of how Northwestern Connecticut Community College met the challenges of educating students during the COVID pandemic.”

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