GREENFIELD — Two weeks since the start of the fall semester, Greenfield Community College students are dusting off their textbooks and returning to class with the introduction of two new programs.
This year, the college launched its justice studies program, an associate degree that serves as a revamp of the criminal justice program. GCC Dean of Liberal Arts Blair Ruscitti said there are already 32 students enrolled in justice studies. The college also began a surgical technology program, with nine students enrolled.
Ruscitti said the criminal justice program was previously more narrowed in its focus than justice studies is.
“It was really for students who wanted to enter law enforcement directly after getting their associate degrees,” she said. “It is still a place for students who want to enter law enforcement, but the curriculum has broadened a lot. Students who want to study the law or pursue careers in social work, correctional work — this is also a place for them.”
In addition to the two new programs, the college also expanded its environmental conservation and human services programs to make them associate degrees. Assistant Dean of Allied Health Programs Dawn Josefski said this was done to align with the college’s goals of providing career opportunities to students who might want to pursue employment or further education after earning an associate degree through hands-on training.
Josefski said expansion of the human services program bolstered the school’s 29-year-old paramedic courses through additional enrollment and helped maintain enrollment in the basic EMT and medical assistant programs — both of which see high job placement rates for students.
“A lot these allied health programs have clinical, hands-on components. … The neat thing about these programs and what we do is, because of accreditation, not only do we have to meet certain benchmarks, we also have to report out on our graduates and where they get hired,” Josefski said. “For our EMS programs, we’re close to 100% job placement rates. Our medical assistant program goes anywhere from 85% to 96% job placement rates. … We’re trying to change lives for the better by offering opportunities for these students to go directly into the workforce.”
The same high enrollment rates and job training expansion rings true for the college’s newly launched surgical technology program, which Coordinator Nicole Turner said has nearly reached its cap of 10 students. She said the students are participating in a hands-on skills lab, and will begin a clinical rotation in their fourth and fifth semesters.
“We’re elbow deep right now in learning instrumentation, which is most of our jobs as surgical technicians,” Turner said. “Throughout the next few semesters, we’ll be learning about the sterile field, all kinds of surgical equipment, supplies, all kinds of medications we’re going to be using during surgery, how to prepare and manage surgical equipment, and how to manage surgical accounts.”
Despite facing federal funding cutbacks by the Trump administration, Ruscitti said enrollment rates have risen significantly since Gov. Maura Healey launched MassReconnect, a program ensuring a free community college education for students ages 25 and older who do not have bachelor’s degrees, and the subsequent MassEducate program, which makes community college free for qualifying students under age 25 and adult learners with one prior associate degree.
Ruscitti added that since the MassReconnect rollout, the college has worked to enlarge the scope of its programming to accommodate a larger student body.
“GCC is feeling the cuts like institutions across the country. However, with the advent of free community college, enrollment is up and fill rates for our courses are up as well,” she said. “We’re trying to make sure we have enough courses to offer our students.”
