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MCC Daily Tribune Archive

President's Wednesday Message


As I write, many members of our college community continue to make progress in completing MCC’s Middle State Commission on Higher Education self-study.  This seems the perfect time to share one example of how our College carries out our mission and lives both our values and our commitment to the MSCHE Characteristics of Excellence. The upcoming Essential Discussion, “Black Male Achievement in Higher Education,” and the College’s ongoing work to improve the black male success rate at MCC provides just that opportunity—and it is one of many possible examples that highlight what makes our College a leader.

MCC’s mission is built on our commitment to access, grounding our purpose in the call to educate and prepare diverse learners to achieve scholarly, professional, and individual success within a local and global context.  We also identify five values that support our mission; among them are empowerment, excellence and inclusiveness.  Our student population reflects this mission and these values, but for some time, the gaps in success rates across student cohorts have been a concern.  Recent reports on poverty and inequity in Rochester have underscored the need to look more closely at our data to learn more about differences in success.  How well are we educating and preparing diverse learners?

In essence, asking this question, gathering data and documentation, and then framing a response to this evidence are the pillars upon which MSCHE Standard 7, Institutional Assessment, is built.  According to our accreditor, we are asked to develop and implement “an assessment process that evaluates [our] overall effectiveness in achieving [our] mission and goals.”  Further, we are charged with “using the results of those assessments to improve programs and services” (which is the heart of Standard 2, Planning, Resource Allocation and Institutional Renewal). 

Within the Characteristics of Excellence, Standard 8, Admissions and Retention sets forth an expectation that the college “seeks to admit students whose interests, goals, and abilities are congruent with its mission and seeks to retain them through the pursuit of the students’ educational goals.” This standard also requires the college to conduct an ongoing assessment of student success to assure that students are supported through policies and programs.

So, how well are we doing?  The answer was not comforting. (Note: all data from MCC Institutional Research)

*      Access:  From 2009 to 2014, the percentage of our students who self-identify as African-American grew from 18.7% to 20.4%.  In real numbers, the number of African-American students enrolled actually fell over that period, but it fell by a much lower rate than other populations and, thus, makes up a larger percentage of our students now than it did before.

*         Success:  For the most recent graduating cohort that MCC has data available, gaps in success are apparent:

o   All Students: 21.7% Graduated; 20.9% Transferred; 14.0% Persisted

o   White Students: 26.7% Graduated; 22.2% Transferred; 13.3% Persisted

o   African-American Students: 9.9% Graduated; 18.2% Transferred; 12.4% Persisted

o   African-American Male Students: 7.6% Graduated; 16.8% Transferred; 11.7% Persisted

In keeping with accreditation expectations, all students represented by this data were admitted to MCC and registered using the same procedures and requirements, but the results across the populations are dramatically different.  Now that we have the data, what response do we frame? How are we using the “results of [these] assessments to improve programs and services” (MSCHE phrasing) so that the outcomes change?

Upon review of this data, a cross-divisional group from Academic Services, Administrative Services, EDIWS, Student Services, and my office convened.  This group has participated in national workshops and webinars, researched best practices, and are in the process of expanding and developing programs and partnerships.  Without question, MCC has been working to improve the success of all students for years, but as this data reveals, for some student cohorts, our results do not reflect the magnitude of our work. 

The cross-divisional group is taking a different approach this time, with a goal of creating a different future.  As Shaun R. Harper, Director of the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for the Study of Race and Equity in Education notes:  “those who are interested in Black male student success have much to learn from Black men who have actually been successful. To increase their educational attainment, the popular one-sided emphasis on failure and low- performing Black male undergraduates must be counterbalanced with insights gathered from those who somehow manage to navigate their way to and through higher education, despite all that is stacked against them.”  (See the full report <
https://www.gse.upenn.edu/equity/sites/gse.upenn.edu.equity/files/publications/bmss.pdf> .)  I hope you will join Dr. Harper, your colleagues, and others on May 7 at our convening on “Black Male Achievement in Higher Education” as we come together to move from assessment to data to discovery to discussion to action in serving our students and helping them achieve their goals.

After all, this is what our mission, our values, and the characteristics of excellence that MCC embodies call us to do.  Thank you for assuring that we walk our talk, every day.

Where do you see MCC completing the cycle from assessment to action?  Share your thoughts on the
blog.

Anne M. Kress
Office of the President
04/15/2015