Jose Coll, president of Western New Mexico University, is redesigning how his institution serves older and nontraditional students, drawing on his own unconventional path to leadership. Coll earned his GED before eventually becoming a university president, giving him direct insight into the barriers that adult learners face.
Western New Mexico University sits in Silver City, a rural area with limited educational infrastructure. The institution serves a region where many students work full-time jobs, balance family responsibilities, and cannot commit to traditional four-year residential programs. Coll's tenure has centered on building flexible pathways that acknowledge this reality.
The university has expanded competency-based education options, allowing students to progress based on demonstrated mastery rather than seat time. This approach matters for working adults who may take longer to complete degrees while juggling employment and caregiving. The model also compresses time to degree for those who enter with relevant professional experience or prior learning.
WNMU has strengthened partnerships with regional employers to create degree programs tied directly to job market needs. Healthcare, advanced manufacturing, and skilled trades programs now include stackable credentials. Students can earn certificates that provide immediate labor market value while working toward associate or bachelor's degrees. This addresses a persistent problem: traditional four-year degrees often leave working adults waiting years before earning credentials that boost their earning power.
The university also revised its admissions standards to accept students without traditional high school diplomas or standardized test scores. Coll's own GED background informed this decision. Many competent adults enter higher education through alternative pathways, and rigid admissions criteria exclude capable learners who lack conventional credentials. WNMU now evaluates applications holistically, considering work experience, community involvement, and demonstrated readiness.
Accelerated programming and evening and weekend course schedules reduce barriers for employed students. Online and hybrid learning options extend access to those in remote areas or with transportation challenges. Financial aid counseling specifically addresses nontraditional student needs, including support for part-time enrollment and explanations of how federal aid works for students taking longer to complete degrees.
Coll's vision extends beyond individual student success. Rural universities like WNMU face enrollment declines and budget pressures as demographic shifts reduce the traditional college-age population. Serving older adults represents institutional survival. The president frames this not as compromise but as intentional design around actual student populations. Western New Mexico's students have always been nontraditional; the university is finally building infrastructure that matches their lives.
This approach has implications for regional workforce development. New Mexico faces nursing shortages, manufacturing skill gaps, and underrepresented populations in technical fields. WNMU's flexible pathways help address these gaps by making education accessible to workers who cannot abandon employment for school.
Coll's leadership demonstrates how institutional leaders can leverage personal experience to drive systemic change. His GED background was not a barrier overcome but a lens that clarified institutional priorities. Western New Mexico's redesign shows that older and working students do not need easier standards. They need institutions designed around their actual constraints and strengths.