BROCKTON, Mass. — Nearly 20 EMT instructors at Massasoit Community College say they were terminated after they say the college made an abrupt decision to halt their EMT program.
Instructors tell Boston 25 News they were notified about the pause via email, just two weeks before the end of class term.
“As the instructor I told them, I am effectively fired at the end of this class. I am not sure moving forward what kind of communication you are going to have,” former instructor Nastassia Swanson told Boston 25 News.
Swanson says they were also told that once a review is completed all personnel will have to re-apply for a position. Swanson says she’s taught 41 courses at Massasoit between the EMT and paramedic programs over the course of 11 years and this abrupt termination is leaving her without a job going into the holidays.
“About one hundred to one hundred and fifty students yearly go through our program, that’s a lot of certified individuals and not all of them choose to become certified and work but that’s still a large amount of people on the South Shore who would potentially work for ambulance companies, private EMS or municipal EMS fire-based service,” said Swanson.
Swanson says the program has a strong reputation in preparing emts and paramedics for the region. Former Massasoit student Kevin Racicot says this program was crucial in his learning process. “There’s a huge shortage of EMTs in the state, in this country. It’s such a thankless job, never pays well, but there’s people that want to go do it because they want to make a difference, so I think it’s incredibly disappointing that their going to get rid of or pausing the program,” said Racicot.
Both the mayor’s office and the state referred Boston 25 News to a prepared statement by Massasoit about their decision. It says the temporary pause during the spring 2026 semester is an effort to conduct a program review. The college says their goal is to complete that process as soon as possible.
“The program has been running for over eleven years now, many classes so for such an abrupt pause with no warning with no input from the lead instructors who have been there for a very long time, consistently. We were pushed out it seems,” said Swanson.
Swanson says instructors were told they were not terminated due to performance issues.
Students currently enrolled in the EMT program can complete the program as scheduled.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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