June/July 2018

On By Middlesex CC

Updates from the President

Working Together To Be the Best

bestcollegescom-subtitle-badgeMiddlesex Community College was recently named the best community college in MA by BestColleges.com. This recognition highlights the exceptional work being done across our two campuses. Our faculty and staff strive every day to keep the door open to an affordable high-quality college education.

I am continually impressed by the number of innovative and creative ways our faculty and staff engage and support students in their learning. As we know, it is often a difficult journey for our students and our willingness to address the needs of the whole student throughout their journey is something that sets us apart.

We continue to highlight and support individual efforts to promote our mission, but it is the ways we work together that have the greatest impact. Individual initiative and entrepreneurship are critical elements but being an entrepreneurial college that uses the latest tools to collectively solve problems is where we will really move the needle on student success.

mcc_360_fin_color

Our Title III grant (MCC360) is great example of the entire college coming together to implement new tools and processes to support student success. From the start, new students will begin at MCC by accessing the Navigate online planning and advising tool, completing a hybrid orientation program through a new video based online platform, and be advised by faculty and professional staff who are supported by a data analytics officer and the HelioCampus/Tableau data analytics platform. Additionally, new and experienced faculty will have access to the hybrid ACUE professional development system that assists faculty to develop effective evidence-based pedagogy that advances faculty developed student learning outcomes.

By working and learning together, we can implement and support technologies that will help us assist students in new ways. Our students succeed because of our innovative individual and collective efforts. Your creative efforts inspire and make me proud of MCC so a big thanks for all you do to support student success.

All the best,
Jim Mabry

Upcoming Events

  • August 1, 2018 – Walk-In Enrollment
  • August 7, 2018 – MCC Night at the Spinners, LeLacheur Park, Lowell, MA
  • August 14 – 28, 2018 – Walk-In Enrollment
  • August 29, 2:00 – 4:00 – Division Meetings
  • August 30, 2:00 – 4:00 – Convocation, Bedford Campus
  • August 29 & 30, 2018 – New Student Orientation
  • September 4, 2018 – Fall Semester Begins

MCC in the News

Current Grant Initiatives

AANAPISI Grant Update

The AANAPISI grant has enabled Middlesex Community College to make significant progress in the area of academic quality and student services during its first two years. orientgroupOver the past three months, we have been developing and submitted the annual report which is required by the federal government. This process has given us the opportunity to reflect on the different components of the grant and to thank the numerous faculty, staff and students who have made valuable contributions to the success of the program.

As we enter the next few years of the grant, we hope to continue to leverage and make connections with community partners, and to expand services to more students in the areas of academic quality and student services, and improve the student college-going experience.

MCC 360 Update

mcc_360_fin_colorThe Title III-supported MCC 360 project has had a busy summer. The MCC 360 advisory board met in early July to hear updates about the project’s progress. In the coming year, the advisory board will be meeting on a quarterly basis as we begin the implementation of grant-supported systems such as Navigate (IPAS tool) and Heliocampus (data warehouse). During this summer, we are conducting training on EAB Navigate for faculty who will serve as peer resources for their divisions. We have also begun to look at ways to use the Tableau data visualization tool to help communicate actionable data related to student success. In addition, we have been interviewing applicants for the role of Data Analytics Officer, who will play a key role in helping the college strategize about ways in which we can collect and use data to advance the goals of the grant.

Student Affairs

Adult Learning Center

apitchaya-barbara-maglio.jpgThe Adult Learning Center (ALC) is proud to highlight past ALC Student and 2018 MCC graduate, Apitchaya Thiapphet. Ms. Thiapphet came to the United States from Thailand and began her higher education journey by enrolling in the Adult Learning Center in 2015. After a semester of working on her skills at the ALC, she felt ready to enroll in a degree program at MCC. Ms. Thiapphet took full advantage of her time at MCC by joining clubs, becoming a student leader, attending a diversity summit held during Spring Break as well as traveling to the UK and Ireland as part of a MCC International Fellowship in 2017. She managed all of this while still maintaining a 3.91 GPA and has now graduated with highest honors as a member of the Commonwealth Honors Program and Phi Theta Kappa. Having earned her Associate in History, Politics and Global Studies, Ms. Thiapphet is moving on to even greater accomplishments and modeling the amazing potential for ALC and MCC students. Congratulations, Apitchaya, on all of your hard work and best wishes in your future endeavors!

Veterans Resource Center

jessica-frost-maria-mcduffie.jpgWe are pleased to announce that the Office of International, Multicultural and Veterans Affairs has hired Jessica Frost as the new Director of the Veterans Resource Center located on  the Bedford and Lowell campuses. As a U.S. Navy veteran and proud alumnus of Middlesex Community College, Jessica understands the challenges our veterans, active military and their families face in transitioning back to civilian life and college. Jessica brings a passion and eagerness to help those whom have served our nation’s military. Since 2014, she has been working as a valuable member of the MCC community as a staff assistant in the Academic Advising and Enrollment Management departments.

Jessica obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from Framingham State University and a Master of Education in Higher Education Administration from Northeastern University where she was also employed as an Assistant Director to the University Registrar. Currently, she is pursuing her Doctor of Management in Community College Policy and Administration from the University of Maryland University College and will be earning her doctorate at the end of August.

Jessica will be transitioning to the Veterans Resource Center starting on August 6. Please take a moment to congratulate Jessica on her new role at MCC.

Advising

It’s been a busy summer in the Advising Center. Staff in the Advising Center are actively assisting new students in Advising and Registration sessions as well as conducting outreach to returning students. Our goal is have students register as early as possible this summer to ensure that students are ready for class on day one.

20180706_054417_LS_070518_LOW_MCC065_300

Advisors Working With Students

A recent article in the Lowell Sun showcased advisors Winny Oyamo-Twombly and Helen Vargas working with students during a new student advising and registration session.

New Staff Members Over the past few months the advising department conducted a search for two new academic counselors for the Lowell campus. We’re happy to announce our newest hires:

Yohanka Tejada will transition from the Financial Aid office to the Academic Advising team as an Academic Counselor. Yohanka’s experience in financial aid will greatly assist our department. Yohanka has worked in financial aid for the last 8 years at MCC and also has advising experience from her time at Northern Essex Community College. Fluent in Spanish, Yohanka is also a proud alum of Middlesex and continued her education at Lesley University where she obtained her bachelor’s degree in Business Management and Northeastern University where she obtained her master’s degree in Higher Education Administration. Greatly respected by her colleagues, we’re positive Yohanka will make a great impression on our staff team.

Melinda Hill currently works as a Student Success Advisor at the University of New Haven in West Haven, Connecticut. A Massachusetts native, Melinda will transition back to the Bay State to work at MCC as an Academic Counselor. Melinda has great experience in advising and student affairs. Recently she worked with the Center for Student Success, assisting her caseload of over 200 students with all aspects of college life including academic policy, curriculum requirements, degree audit and the registration process. Before her time as a success advisor she worked as the Coordinator for Student Organization and Operations. A graduate of the University of Rhode Island (Bachelor of Psychology) and the University of Bridgeport, (Master of Counseling & College Student Personnel) Melinda has strong technical experience working with Banner, Argos, and similar student based applications we use at MCC. She has instructed credit based courses for students on academic probation, at-risk first year students, critical thinking and psychology electives. We’re excited to have Melinda join our team.

Academic Maps

academicmap.jpgOver the course of the summer, a comprehensive review of Academic Maps and Pathway Maps took place. Updates shared from faculty and curriculum changes have been implemented and advising staff have taken time to review universal course name changes and program titles that reflect the catalog have been completed. As always, marketing has worked diligently to implement changes and all maps will be posted next week.

To ensure you’re viewing the latest copy of the Academic Maps, be sure to click refresh on your browser or clear your browser history.

EAB Navigate

Over the course of the last few months advisors have reviewed EAB Navigate functions and continued training on the system for faculty and staff will continue throughout the summer and fall terms.

All faculty and staff advisors at the college are encouraged to create an account with EAB. As a member institution, all of us are allowed to create an account to access more information on the EAB Navigate platform, and additionally Student Success research forums, articles and resources. To create an account, visit the EAB Membership Registration page, enter Bedford, Massachusetts, as your location and select Middlesex Community College.

Transfer Advising

Jane Fain, Coordinator of Transfer Affairs and members of Advising have been working on a new Transfer Workshop that discusses the benefits of degree completion. The workshop will be available to view online and will be a path item for new students in the EAB platform.

In addition to being available online, the workshop will be presented throughout the year in the advising centers. In addition to the Transfer Workshop, the Commonwealth Commitment program has been extended and with changes in requirements, will serve more students in the coming year. Advisors are actively working with new students to sign up for the program as well as the Commonwealth Honors Program.

Veteran Advising

Advisors Mike Rideout and Ivette Caletz have been advising and assisting Veteran Students utilizing educational benefits for summer and fall course registration. They have also provided feedback on new E-Forms we plan to use for the upcoming academic year. Starting on August 1st, students seeking to use benefits will be able to request their certification online, ensuring that veterans are being certified properly and are getting the assistance they need.

Enrollment

Enrollment Management

Banner 9 is Live!

Banner 9 has been successfully launched in Enrollment. Thank you to the Enrollment Management Center and Student Information Center staff for their advanced testing of the Banner 9 forms. Staff members used their department processes as part of the testing effort and documented their procedures into Banner 9 training documentation. These documents are in a Banner Documentation SharePoint site where other departments can review and leverage the work of the EMC and SIC. The staff will continue to make necessary modifications to the documentation as issues or changes are discovered since Banner 9 has gone live.

Testing Department

Welcome to Jessica Kennett as the new Multiple Measure Specialist in Lowell! Jessica started as the Multiple Measure Specialist in the Lowell Testing Center this past May. Jessica has previous work experience in student services at North Shore Community College, Arizona State University and the University of Phoenix. Her areas of expertise include testing and working with multiple measures as well as supporting many functions in the Registrar and Financial Aid offices. Jessica has an Associate in Science in Human Services from North Shore Community College, Bachelor of Science in Human Services Counseling from Lesley University and a Master of Education in Higher Education Administration from Arizona State University.

The testing department was focused over the last couple of months in the testing and advising of approximately 400 potential Dual Enrollment students in course placements. During this period Accuplacer testing took place for the following high schools: Bedford High School, Lowell Charter Academy, Greater Lowell Vocational High School, Shawsheen Technical High School, Innovative Academy, Dracut High School and Tewksbury High School. In collaboration with Ellen Grondine and the Math and English departments, Chelmsford High School and Burlington High School will pilot the usage of multiple measures for placements into Dual Enrollment classes for Fall 2018.

Graduation

The Registrar’s Office and the Enrollment Management Center staff were busy in preparing for and contributing to another successful Commencement Day. Graduation review for Spring 2018 has been completed with 702 graduate applicants. All graduates can pick up their diplomas in the Lowell Student Information Center beginning June 22.

Student Evaluations – Spring and Summer 2018

Spring 2018 student evaluation results have been processed and were mailed to faculty on June 13.

Information for student evaluations for the Summer 2018 semester has been posted on NewsCaster and e-mails are being sent to faculty. Evaluations must be picked up and returned in accordance to the below dates:  

  • Summer II:  July 9 – August 8, 2018

Pick-Up Date: July 31, 2018

Return Date: August 8, 2018

  • Summer III (Evening):  June 4 – 31, 2018

Pick-Up Date: July 19, 2018

Return Date: July 31, 2018

  • Summer IV (Evening): June 18 – August 14, 2018

Pick-Up Date: August 2, 2018

Return Date: August 14, 2018

  • AHP1: May 29, – August 4, 2018

Pick-Up Date: July 19, 2018

Return Date: July 31, 2018

Summer 2018 Final Grade Deadlines

Summer faculty are requested to submit final grades by the following dates:

  • Summer Session II: August 13, 2018
  • Summer Session III: August, 2018
  • Summer Session IV: August, 2018

Fall 2018 Registration

Extensive outreach by phone, e-mail and text is underway through a collaborative effort of Enrollment, Admissions and Advising. All Spring 2018 students who are not registered are being contacted with efforts made to assist with advising and self-service registration. New students must register for classes by August 28, and returning students will follow the usual add/drop period.

Fall 2018 Final Exam Schedule

The Fall 2018 Final Exam Schedule has been posted. For information on final exam dates and times for Day, Evening/Saturday, Online, and Minimester classes, please click HERE.

Institutional Advancement

Marketing Communications

New Marketing Campaign

The Office of Marketing Communications has been busy this summer with the creation of a new marketing campaign. Student feedback from the focus groups we held last semester along with quantitative data gathered from the call center, open house surveys, application data and the communications preference surveys were used to create a 2-year, student-focused campaign that is authentic and speaks to the many populations the college serves. The campaign is also institutionally-aligned, focusing on academic pathways and programs and our commitment to student success. Phase 1 of the campaign will be rolled out in August and September in print and digital advertising and in some branded campus signage.

What makes this campaign special are our amazing students and alums who are sharing their MCC stories. Not only will their photos appear in our print and digital materials, they will also be featured in radio and television ads. All photos were taken by the very talented Eno Adoghe, a MCC graduate from the class of 2018!

We are still looking for amazing student stories to tell. If you’d like to recommend a student or alum, please send their name and contact information to marketing@middlesex.mass.edu.

Enrollment Center Redesign3T8A6868.jpg

Marketing collaborated with Facilities on the creation of custom wall graphics for the newly renovated Enrollment Center in Bedford. These brightly colored decals feature the colors and graphic icons associated with each of the 7 pathways. The installation will be complete in time for the start of the fall semester!

Richard and Nancy Donahue Family Academic Arts Center VIDEO

MCC recently hosted an open house for the newly built Richard and Nancy Donahue Family Academic Arts Center to give community members a preview of the space. You can see a sneak peak of the Academic Arts Center on the MCC YouTube channel:  https://youtu.be/hPWUHSRu74E

Digital Asset Management

Dean of Marketing Communications Jennifer Aradhya was recently interviewed on the topic of Digital Asset Management for the August 2018 issue of The Nonprofit Communications Report.

Send Us Your Stories!
20180701_070234_Image_2 (1).jpgDon’t forget: Marketing Communications is always looking for good stories about our outstanding Middlesex programs and students. The Lowell Sun recently ran a nice story about MCC students Stephen Collins and Daniel Iknaian, who won 5 medals in the Collegiate DECA championships: http://www.lowellsun.com

We know there are plenty more great student stories out there. So, please email your student-story ideas to: Marketing@middlesex.mass.edu

College Advancement

Celebrity Forum 2018 with Jamie Lee Curtis and Susan Wornick

35463639_10155681458507709_8155138285073596416_o.jpgOn June 8, the Middlesex Community College Foundation’s Celebrity Forum hosted Jamie Lee Curtis.  For the event, Curtis was interviewed by former news anchor at WCVB, Channel 5, Susan Wornick at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium. The MCC Foundation opened the program with a scholarship awards ceremony, honoring 18 students who were presented with scholarships totaling $39,000.  Special thanks are extended to the Forum’s sponsors and donors.

Do You Know Where Our Alumni Are?

Everyone who works at MCC has had opportunities to meet remarkable students throughout the years. Many have stayed in touch with the students, celebrating their successes. The Advancement Office would like to hear from faculty and staff who are able to provide information about MCC alumni – their careers and life accomplishments. MCC Advancement and Alumni offices appreciate the good work performed by alumni each day and want to encourage long-lasting relationships with the college. Please help the Advancement Office maintain accurate data on alumni. Tell the Advancement office about the impressive alumni you know. They could become commencement speakers, distinguished alumni award recipients, advisory board members, classroom presenters, student mentors, ambassadors for Middlesex Community College, etc! Contact Amy Lee at leea@middlesex.mass.edu and let us know about the alumni with whom you’ve kept in touch.

Community Education and Training

Program Managers Caitlin Campopiano and Lauren Ellis attended the June 2018 UMass Lowell Women’s Leadership Conference, founded by Chancellor Jacqueline Moloney in her inaugural year as the first woman to lead UMass Lowell. The Power and Potential of Women brings together leading women in business, education, government and the nonprofit sector to share their expertise on everything from finding mentors and negotiating salaries to building influence and leading a healthy and productive life. The menu of sessions is designed to engage women in all stages of their careers, from aspiring and emerging leaders to experienced practitioners.

College for Kids20180710_092130.jpg - LAIMAN WONG

Our summer College for Kids program began July 9 on both the Lowell and Bedford campuses. This year, 505 kids ages 8-16 will participate in engaging programs such as Theatre, Cartooning, Medical Lab Science, Principles of Electricity, Painting like the Masters, Aviation, and many more!

Workforce Training Fund

The following workforce training and personal enrichment classes began in June/July: SHRM Human Resource Essentials, Nurse Assistant, MS Excel, Biotech Equipment Calibration, Home Electrical Repair, MTEL and TEAS Exam Prep, The Art of Cheese Tasting.

Corporate Education and Training

Corporate Education and Training delivered or will be delivering:

  • CPR/First Aid, Medical Administration Recertification, Medical Administration Program, Urban Youth First Aid/CPR trainings along with Principles of Developmental Disabilities (3 credit course) for LifeLinks. The courses are conducted at MCC in order to provide employees exposure to taking classes in a college setting.
  • Clinical Manager Leadership Development Series training for Lowell General Hospital at the Main Campus.
  • Culturally Linguistically Appropriate Services training for the Greater Lowell Health Alliance at Saints Campus of Lowell General Hospital.
  • Workforce Training Fund Program Information Session on Wednesday, June 20th from 8:30-10:30 a.m. in the Federal Building. Commonwealth Corporation provided an overview of grant options and presented content on the Workforce Training Fund
  • Group Leader Training at Mack Technologies in Westford. Training included Supervisor & Manager Challenges and Strategies for Success.
  • Personal Protection/Active Shooter training for Wingate at Belvidere in Lowell and the Northeast Independent Living Program in Lawrence.
  • Certified Quality Technician (CQT) exams for eleven students that completed Quality Training Program through the Massachusetts Advanced Manufacturing TechHire Consortium.
  • Preventing Harassment and Discrimination in the Workplace training for Hearthstone Alzheimer Care, LTD in Marlborough.

Corporate Education and Training was represented at the The Work+Edu Conference in Boston. The conference brought together leaders in secondary/post-secondary education and employers in the fastest growing industries in the region-healthcare, technology, advanced manufacturing.

Homeland Security

The MCC Law Center works in cooperation with and is funded by the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office and the Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration.

Atty. Terry Downes, Executive Director of the Program on Homeland Security, continues his work as a frequent news analyst, most recently appearing on WBZ Radio’s Weekend Live broadcast on June 2 and again on July 7, providing analysis and discussion of terror attacks around the world and at home in the U.S., and responding to listener inquiries on a range of issues.

On June 2, the broadcast covered recent school shootings around the U.S.; the increase in Jihadi terror attacks in Muslim countries during Ramadan; and the May 22 terror attack in Liege, Belgium, involving the ambush and murder two female police officers in broad daylight, the murder of a student-teacher, and the taking of 2 women as hostages in a nearby high school.

On July 7, discussion centered on the Annapolis, MD newspaper shootings; the Novichuk poisoning cases in the United Kingdom; the reported death of Abu Bakra al-Baghdadi’s son in Syria; and updates on the Syrian Civil War and the resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Office of Professional Development

OER Update

Middlesex continues its work on promoting open educational resources for students. Faculty and staff attended the recent Northeast OER Summit which was held in June at UMass Amherst. Faculty development work is ongoing with over a dozen faculty working to develop OER courses and resources to support our collegewide OER initiative. In addition, Middlesex played a key role in bringing about the creation of an online OER repository specifically for community colleges in Massachusetts.

Finance

Purchasing

Finance Department Banner 9 Training Update

In late May and early June, the Finance department conducted training sessions that highlighted the changes with the upgrade to Banner 9. The team included Maureen Hudson, Kathy Rich, Karen Kurps, Jackson Chege, Christina Kelley and the IT department. We would like to recognize Maureen Hudson for all her efforts in training the Banner Finance users. In total, we offered 8 sessions in 4 weeks and Maureen trained over 60 buyers and over 30 approvers.  She went above and beyond researching the changes in Banner 9 to ensure a smooth transition for the end users. We appreciate all Maureen’s hard work to make the Banner 9 upgrade successful for staff.  Thank you Maureen and the team for all their support! The Finance department is processing the last minor edits to the training manual, which will be posted to the purchasing website in the next few weeks.

 

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s