{"id":29152,"date":"2016-08-30T20:51:52","date_gmt":"2016-08-31T00:51:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom2\/2016\/08\/31\/chemistry-prof-goes-back-to-school-to-understand-the-challenges-nontraditional-students-face\/"},"modified":"2026-05-18T16:00:23","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T20:00:23","slug":"chemistry-prof-goes-back-to-school-to-understand-the-challenges-nontraditional-students-face","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2016\/08\/30\/chemistry-prof-goes-back-to-school-to-understand-the-challenges-nontraditional-students-face\/","title":{"rendered":"Chemistry prof goes back to school to understand the challenges nontraditional students face"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Professor<\/a>

Professor Mike Cross<\/p><\/div>\n

Chemical and Engineering News<\/p>\n

August 29, 2016<\/p>\n

By Andrea Widener<\/p>\n

When Michael Cross decided to go back to school, he had a full time job and a family with three active kids to support. That was the same challenge facing many of his fellow students at Northern Essex Community College<\/a> in Haverhill, Mass.<\/p>\n

What made Cross different was that he already had a Ph.D. and a tenured position teaching chemistry at Northern Essex. He didn\u2019t need an education to improve his prospects, but he thought it would make him a better teacher. \u201cI wanted to understand my students better and empathize with them,\u201d says Cross, 36. \u201cI hadn\u2019t been there. I didn\u2019t know what it was like.\u201d<\/p>\n

When he told his family about his plan to go back to school his wife thought he was crazy. His kids\u2014ages 12, 9, and 6 \u2013 wondered if they could make him do homework every night. Cross wasn\u2019t sure he could do it, so he didn\u2019t tell many others what was going on. \u201cI was afraid I was going to drop out,\u201d he remembers.<\/p>\n

When his fellow Northern Essex professors did find out, they were split on whether he should be doing this at all. Some told him he was undervaluing his education by going to community college. But others understood his goals and were eager to gain insights from what he learned.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnything we can do as faculty members to understand our students better can help us find teaching methods that really are effective,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Cross himself was the ultimate traditional student. He went to the University of Utah right out of high school. He didn\u2019t have to worry about a full-time job or family responsibilities as he took his introductory chemistry courses.<\/p>\n

He went on to get a Ph.D. in chemistry at Utah expecting to pursue a career in pharmaceutical research. Then one day he agreed to help out a friend teaching chemistry at a nearby community college. From then on he was hooked on teaching, especially at the community college level.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always liked to work with people who may not consider themselves to be scientists,\u201d Cross explains. \u201cA light comes on and they say \u2018This might be something I\u2019d like to do\u2019 At most of the major universities most students know what they want to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was those same students who inspired him to go back to school, a plan he hatched while watching a ceremony for honors students. \u201cNot only are they top-notch students who are going on to some incredible schools, many of them have done it with far more difficult circumstances than I had when I was a student.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cross had been at Northern Essex for six years when he enrolled. From the beginning, it wasn\u2019t easy. One challenge was the complicated college financial aid forms known as FAFSA. Another was the college\u2019s entrance exam. \u201cI was a pretty decent student, but I haven\u2019t taken a test in years. You lose some of those skills.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also had to get his previous college credits transferred to Northern Essex. When Cross showed up in the advising department<\/a>, where he occasionally guided potential science students himself, the staff worried he was sent there to investigate them rather than enroll.\u00a0 But he soon convinced them this wasn\u2019t a ploy. They broke the bad news that many of his credits wouldn\u2019t transfer so he still needed many of the basics. He\u2019d never taken English composition, for example. Or public speaking, even though that\u2019s what he did for a living as a teacher.<\/p>\n

He also had to take the required first year seminar that would help introduce him to the college experience\u2014a class he taught himself in the science department. \u201cIt was really nice to be sitting in my first year seminar with people half my age, twice my age, veterans, kids, a little bit of everything and realize that we all fit. We were all part of the same community,\u201d he says. \u201cThat was the feeling we should be fostering, to make them all feel included.\u201d<\/p>\n

A few students recognized him and wondered what he was doing there, but in most classes he was just part of the crowd. That gave him insight into the regular relationships between students. \u201cI found that students would feel much more comfortable asking their classmates for help than asking their professor,\u201d Cross says. That was especially true of younger students, who felt like everyone knew what was going on except them. \u201cI learned to talk with them and let them know that everyone is feeling these emotions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Older students weren\u2019t afraid to ask questions in class. \u201cThey think \u2018I\u2019m here on my own dime and I want to do it right the first time,\u2019\u201d he says. But they also felt out-of-place, especially if they were older than the professor. \u201cThey are nervous because they haven\u2019t been in a classroom in 30 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

They also faced challenges jugging full time jobs, complicated kids schedules, and their family responsibilities. One of Cross\u2019 fellow students had missed class because she had to take her mother to a chemotherapy appointment, but she never told their professor. \u201cI don\u2019t condone giving out As because people have difficulties, but I think it\u2019s important that students and professors really communicate and know what is going on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cross says learned a lot about both teaching and the Northern Essex community from taking classes from other professors. Some used open online educational resources<\/a> rather than textbooks. Others led online discussion boards in a better way. He learned that the campus writing center did far more than just check grammar, and that students often don\u2019t understand what is considered cheating. \u201cAs professors we know what we\u2019re talking about, but our students sometimes don\u2019t,\u201d Cross says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really was the best professional development I\u2019ve ever had, to sit through a class that I teach and see it taught in a different way,\u201d he recalls. He got to see his fellow faculty members at their best, worst, and everything in between. \u201cIt was really kind of comforting to see that other professors sometimes have a bad day.\u201d<\/p>\n

In May, Cross graduated with an associate\u2019s degree in liberal arts<\/a>. After the ceremony, he was mobbed by people he had never met, who loved that he had joined them in their college experience. \u201cThis is why I love community college,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Cross would encourage other professors to, if not get a degree, at least go back and take a few classes. \u201cIt helps you get back in touch with being a learner and being on the other side of things,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Many professors think students just aren\u2019t working hard enough, but often there is much more to the story. \u201cThere is more than enough blame to go around, but there is also more than enough praise to go around,\u201d he says. \u201cThere are so many good things going on.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chemical and Engineering News August 29, 2016 By Andrea Widener When Michael Cross decided to go back to school, he had a full time job and a family with three […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":164,"featured_media":27656,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29152","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archive"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nChemistry prof goes back to school to understand the challenges nontraditional students face - NECC News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2016\/08\/30\/chemistry-prof-goes-back-to-school-to-understand-the-challenges-nontraditional-students-face\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chemistry prof goes back to school to understand the challenges nontraditional students face - NECC News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Chemical and Engineering News August 29, 2016 By Andrea Widener When Michael Cross decided to go back to school, he had a full time job and a family with three […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2016\/08\/30\/chemistry-prof-goes-back-to-school-to-understand-the-challenges-nontraditional-students-face\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"NECC News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-08-31T00:51:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-05-18T20:00:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2026\/03\/Mike-Cross-web.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"286\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"review\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"review\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2016\/08\/30\/chemistry-prof-goes-back-to-school-to-understand-the-challenges-nontraditional-students-face\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2016\/08\/30\/chemistry-prof-goes-back-to-school-to-understand-the-challenges-nontraditional-students-face\/\",\"name\":\"Chemistry prof goes back to school to understand the challenges nontraditional students face - NECC News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2016\/08\/30\/chemistry-prof-goes-back-to-school-to-understand-the-challenges-nontraditional-students-face\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2016\/08\/30\/chemistry-prof-goes-back-to-school-to-understand-the-challenges-nontraditional-students-face\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2026\/03\/Mike-Cross-web.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-08-31T00:51:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-05-18T20:00:23+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/9aa7f809aecda73fcfd75e3ba52a044f\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2016\/08\/30\/chemistry-prof-goes-back-to-school-to-understand-the-challenges-nontraditional-students-face\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2016\/08\/30\/chemistry-prof-goes-back-to-school-to-understand-the-challenges-nontraditional-students-face\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2016\/08\/30\/chemistry-prof-goes-back-to-school-to-understand-the-challenges-nontraditional-students-face\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2026\/03\/Mike-Cross-web.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2026\/03\/Mike-Cross-web.jpg\",\"width\":200,\"height\":286},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2016\/08\/30\/chemistry-prof-goes-back-to-school-to-understand-the-challenges-nontraditional-students-face\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/home\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Chemistry prof goes back to school to understand the challenges nontraditional students face\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/\",\"name\":\"NECC News\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/9aa7f809aecda73fcfd75e3ba52a044f\",\"name\":\"review\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4e574a5100d09afa7a07544531b1843473af5135d8e0f78bd847bdc9c9a7d451?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4e574a5100d09afa7a07544531b1843473af5135d8e0f78bd847bdc9c9a7d451?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"review\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/author\/review\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Chemistry prof goes back to school to understand the challenges nontraditional students face - NECC News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2016\/08\/30\/chemistry-prof-goes-back-to-school-to-understand-the-challenges-nontraditional-students-face\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Chemistry prof goes back to school to understand the challenges nontraditional students face - NECC News","og_description":"Chemical and Engineering News August 29, 2016 By Andrea Widener When Michael Cross decided to go back to school, he had a full time job and a family with three […]","og_url":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2016\/08\/30\/chemistry-prof-goes-back-to-school-to-understand-the-challenges-nontraditional-students-face\/","og_site_name":"NECC News","article_published_time":"2016-08-31T00:51:52+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-05-18T20:00:23+00:00","og_image":[{"width":200,"height":286,"url":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2026\/03\/Mike-Cross-web.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"review","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"review","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2016\/08\/30\/chemistry-prof-goes-back-to-school-to-understand-the-challenges-nontraditional-students-face\/","url":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2016\/08\/30\/chemistry-prof-goes-back-to-school-to-understand-the-challenges-nontraditional-students-face\/","name":"Chemistry prof goes back to school to understand the challenges nontraditional students face - NECC News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2016\/08\/30\/chemistry-prof-goes-back-to-school-to-understand-the-challenges-nontraditional-students-face\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2016\/08\/30\/chemistry-prof-goes-back-to-school-to-understand-the-challenges-nontraditional-students-face\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2026\/03\/Mike-Cross-web.jpg","datePublished":"2016-08-31T00:51:52+00:00","dateModified":"2026-05-18T20:00:23+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/9aa7f809aecda73fcfd75e3ba52a044f"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2016\/08\/30\/chemistry-prof-goes-back-to-school-to-understand-the-challenges-nontraditional-students-face\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2016\/08\/30\/chemistry-prof-goes-back-to-school-to-understand-the-challenges-nontraditional-students-face\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2016\/08\/30\/chemistry-prof-goes-back-to-school-to-understand-the-challenges-nontraditional-students-face\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2026\/03\/Mike-Cross-web.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2026\/03\/Mike-Cross-web.jpg","width":200,"height":286},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2016\/08\/30\/chemistry-prof-goes-back-to-school-to-understand-the-challenges-nontraditional-students-face\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/home\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Chemistry prof goes back to school to understand the challenges nontraditional students face"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/#website","url":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/","name":"NECC News","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/9aa7f809aecda73fcfd75e3ba52a044f","name":"review","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4e574a5100d09afa7a07544531b1843473af5135d8e0f78bd847bdc9c9a7d451?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4e574a5100d09afa7a07544531b1843473af5135d8e0f78bd847bdc9c9a7d451?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"review"},"url":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/author\/review\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29152","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/164"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29152"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29152\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29153,"href":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29152\/revisions\/29153"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29152"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29152"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29152"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}