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A partnership between Anna Maria College and the town of Northborough includes access to graduate and undergraduate degrees, as well as tuition discounts for town staff and residents.
The town of Northborough has partnered with Anna Maria College, a liberal arts college 18 miles away in Paxton, to create a program that promotes access to educational opportunities and strengthens workforce development.
Through the partnership, Anna Maria will offer academic programs, professional training, and skill development programs targeted to the needs and interests of Northborough town staff and the larger Northborough community. The partnership includes access to both undergraduate and graduate degrees in fields such as social work, criminal justice, fire science, paramedic studies, emergency management, and mental health training.
Town staff will receive a 10% tuition discount, and residents are eligible for a $500 per-semester discount, and up to $1,000 each academic year.
Northborough Town Manager Stephanie Bacon said the concept arose from a broader conversation about workforce development and succession planning within town departments.
“We’ve consistently heard from employees that they’re interested in professional development and degree opportunities that are accessible and relevant to municipal work,” Bacon said. “We were looking for ways to create structured educational pathways for our employees, and Anna Maria College was a natural partner given their strong public safety and public administration programs.”
Anna Maria students will also have the opportunity to intern with Northborough town departments through the partnership, which Bacon said has been well received by staff as it “gives the town a pipeline to recruit individuals who already understand municipal work and our community.”
Anna Maria has historically partnered with local police, fire, and school departments to conduct training and connect staff with degree or workforce development opportunities. The agreement with Northborough marks the college’s first partnership with a municipality that covers all departments as well as local residents.
David Armstrong, senior advisor to criminal justice operations at Anna Maria and a former Holden police chief, had the idea to combine and potentially expand existing partnerships.
“Instead of just having police, fire, and paramedic training, why don’t we start at the top of the food chain?,” he said.
Hiring and employee retention has become a challenge for communities statewide, and Anna Maria had the resources and expertise to make an impact, Armstrong said.
“As a college, both in terms of our programs, and then just our mission, we’ve always been part of the community,” said Jim Bidwell, dean of the School of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences at Anna Maria. “The idea is really to make a partnership with the towns, and so that we have communication back and forth.”
For other communities considering a similar partnership, Bacon and John Practico, interim dean of the School of Professional Studies and associate professor of psychology at Anna Maria, recommend assessing municipal needs and identifying areas where a higher education partnership could be beneficial.
“Most organizations and communities have a pretty clear sense of what their challenges are,” Practico said. “I think, with [Anna Maria] having such a wide range of programming, that 90% of those concerns could be addressed.”
The partnership is still in its infancy and program offerings are taking shape, but Bacon said staff response has been very positive, with staff expressing interest in leadership training, public safety programs, and health care-related fields.
“Municipal government relies on a highly skilled workforce. Providing access to education helps us retain employees, build internal leadership, and ensure continuity of services,” said Bacon.