RAPID
RESPONSE
A virus could have ended 108 years of uninterrupted classes.
Faculty and staff mobilized to keep students on track.
The spring 2020 term began with a focus on Industry
4.0. Legislators and business leaders gathered in NWTC’s
Trades and Engineering Technologies center to see the
potential of 3D printing, artificial intelligence and machine
learning in Northeast Wisconsin. Faculty, students, and
guest speakers provided lab demonstrations of Industry
4.0 impacts on manufacturing, logistics, healthcare,
and more.
In other areas of the College, leaders met to discuss
the next year’s budget. A new sign was installed on
Packerland Drive. NWTC received a grant to help low-
income students in and outside school. We held open
houses, arranged internships, awarded scholarships.
Thousands of college students and working adults made
movies, found malware, climbed power poles, practiced
blood draws, analyzed chemicals, machined parts, built
walls, fought fires and learned teaching techniques.
In early March, it all stopped.
And then it all changed.
In response to the COVID-19 epidemic, NWTC closed all
buildings to the public. Employees had two weeks to find
ways to deliver classes and student services remotely.
4 \ FRIENDS OF NWTC
That flexibility would require more than propping
camera phones in front of presenters. Labs and clinical
experiences had to be provided. Large events had to be
reimagined so prospective students could still find the
right program “fit.” Staff considered options ranging
from high-tech simulations to video chat to exchanging
packets of paper by mail. About 300 laptop computers
were gathered from throughout the College and checked
out to students with no computer access at home.
“I am so impressed with our staff and faculty,” said NWTC
President Dr. Jeff Rafn. “We are all thinking creatively and
doing everything we can to ensure our students continue
to receive an education.”