Overview
Established in 1961, Northern Essex Community College (NECC) is an accredited public two-year college that offers associate’s degrees and certificates of program completion. NECC is authorized by Section 5 of Chapter 15A of the Massachusetts General Laws and operates under the direction of a board of trustees, whose members are appointed by the Governor. The board operates under regulations promulgated by the state’s Board of Higher Education; its responsibilities under these regulations include reviewing the college’s mission statement, setting policy, and approving annual budgets.
The president is the administrative head of the college and reports to the board of trustees. The president’s leadership cabinet includes the dean of academic innovations and professional development; director of public safety and risk management/chief of police; vice president of the Lawrence campus and community relations; vice president of institutional advancement; executive director of human resources; vice president of academic and student affairs; chief technology officer; vice president of administration and finance; assistant vice president of student affairs; dean of students; dean of institutional research, planning, and effectiveness; dean of development; dean of business and professional studies; and chief marketing officer.
NECC is a member of the Massachusetts public higher-education system, which consists of 15 community colleges, nine state universities, and five University of Massachusetts campuses. NECC’s main campus is located at 100 Elliott Street in Haverhill. The college has two other campuses, in Lawrence and downtown Haverhill.
NECC had 4,932 and 4,715 students enrolled for the fall 2019 and fall 2020 terms, respectively. The college employed 263 and 264 full- and part-time faculty members for the fall 2018 and fall 2019 terms, respectively.
NECC received appropriations of $20,288,244 and $21,111,643 from the Commonwealth for fiscal years 2019 and 2020, respectively.
Fixed Assets
The Office of the Comptroller of the Commonwealth’s “Fixed Assets—Acquisition Policy” defines fixed assets as follows:
Singular assets [including] . . .
- Vehicles, equipment, furniture, computer software, and all electrical and computer components with (1) a useful life of more than one year and (2) with an original cost between $1,000 and $49,999.
Fixed assets must be recorded in the college’s inventory and reconciled annually. In fiscal year 2019, NECC purchased 131 fixed assets with a total cost of $274,389. This included 103 information technology (IT) assets that cost a total of $152,953 and 28 non-IT assets that cost a total of $121,436. In fiscal year 2020, NECC purchased 351 fixed assets with a total cost of $1,097,627. This included 194 IT assets that cost a total of $306,626 and 157 non-IT assets that cost a total of $791,001.
Chapter 647 Reporting
Under Chapter 647 of the Acts of 1989, state government entities, including NECC, have a responsibility to taxpayers to protect state property from loss or theft. If property goes missing or is stolen, this law requires that these entities immediately report it to the Office of the State Auditor (OSA). OSA uses this information to develop recommendations through the audit process that help state government entities prevent future losses.
Procurement Cards
NECC’s procurement cards (P-Cards) are designed to be used to purchase consumable supplies related to college-related business and travel expenses that are consistent with established policies and procedures. The P-Card simplifies the process of buying and paying for goods in person at supplier sites, online, over the phone, or by mail. Employees can submit applications to use P-Cards; their department heads approve the applications. NECC’s P-Card administrator processes approved applications. Each P-Card is in an employee’s or department’s name, and cardholders are required to obtain and submit supporting documentation, including itemized sales receipts, cash register receipts, vendor order forms, and packing lists, monthly to their supervisors for approval after purchases. In fiscal year 2019, NECC had 57 P-Cards that were used for 3,968 transactions, totaling $744,080. In fiscal year 2020, NECC had 59 P-Cards that were used for 2,970 transactions, totaling $576,705.
| Date published: | June 30, 2021 |
|---|