ARCHBOLD, OHIO – Northwest State Community College hosted its “State of the College” Address at the Voinovich Auditorium-Archbold Campus, held on September 23, 2026. The 2026 event was an external offering, with business, industry and community leaders, elected officials, and representatives from the NSCC Board of Trustees in attendance. Following introductions from Emcee Joel Miller and NSCC Board of Trustees Chair Mickey Schwarzbek, NSCC President Dr. Todd Hernandez provided a powerful progress update on the College’s “Elevate Northwest Ohio” initiative. 

Shawn Hendrix, JobsOhio Talent Strategy Manager, provided a great presentation outlining the state’s workforce needs, and the initiatives and investments made to fill those positions. The event’s closing speaker was Eric Waldron, a 1998 NSCC graduate and Operations Manager at Worthington Steel. The prevailing sentiment with all of the day’s presentations captured Northwest State’s ability to provide a high-quality, high-impact education to power the region’s workforce needs.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Dr. Hernandez provided a nearly 30-minute speech that included a number of topics that showed the strengths of Northwest State. Key takeaways from the speech included:

1. Record enrollment figures – Dr. Hernandez noted that while many colleges and universities are still working to attain pre-COVID enrollment, Northwest State has successfully continued an upward trend, setting record enrollment numbers of 3210.8 FTE in FY 2025, and even eclipsing that mark with 3394.3 FTE in FY 2026. FTE (Full-Time Equivalency) measures all students enrolled in for-credit programs. This record enrollment is powered by NSCC’s workforce development team (Custom Training Solutions), as well as recent modest growth in traditional student population.

2. The graduate voice speaks loudly – Dr. Hernandez also cited some important data from the College’s 2025 Graduate Employment Survey. Of note, 4 out of 5 are working in their field of study, 97.8% were employed in a field related to their credential/program in less than six months. One third received a promotion or pay raise after graduation. 90.7% received some form of financial aid (including scholarships), while 53.7% had no student loans! Finally, an impressive 88.9% of graduates surveyed noted that the financial investment made in their NSCC education was a valuable investment in their futures, and 92.6% said they would recommend NSCC to others!

3. Workforce development was featured – Dr. Hernandez shared that NSCC has built strong working relationships with numerous apprenticeship sites, specifically mentioning that 27 area companies (137 apprentices) in manufacturing, agriculture, automotive, building/construction, steel, food packaging, and more have apprenticeship partnerships through Northwest State in 12 different counties.

SPRING 2027 REGISTRATION

At the conclusion of his presentation, Dr. Hernandez shared some forward-looking facilities updates for both the Archbold and Van Wert Campus locations, aimed to enhance the student experience at Northwest State.

The Northwest State spring 2027 semester enrollment period will open for student-veterans on Friday, October 9th, with open registration starting on Monday, October 12th. For more information on NSCC education, training and services, please visit NorthwestState.edu or call NSCC Admissions at 419.267.1320 today.

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Northwest State Community College is an accredited two-year, state-assisted institution of higher education that has served northwest Ohio since 1969. Northwest State is committed to providing a quality, affordable education with personal attention and small class sizes.  The College offers associate degrees with numerous transfer options, short-term certificate programs, and workforce training programs designed to meet the needs of local businesses and industries. For more information, visit NorthwestState.edu or call 419.267.5511.