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Student Tribune

Open Letter to Students

Monroe Community College has always been a leader.

From our earliest days, MCC has led by providing academic opportunity to a diverse community whose dreams of a college degree would otherwise go unrealized. Our College soon emerged as one of the gems of the SUNY system and earned a national reputation for excellence and innovation in service of student success. MCC is in the top 3% of all US community colleges in awarding associate degrees; our students transfer to some of the most prestigious colleges and universities; and we lead the state and nation in assuring that students can earn for what they learn. All of us are rightly proud of our shared College and our students' amazing accomplishments.

We know that the strength of our College comes from looking to the future. We honor the past, but we cannot live there. To meet the challenges on the horizon and seize the opportunities ahead of us, MCC must change. This is not surprising. Our community is changing, our environment is changing, our students are changing. MCC was created to be a catalyst that transforms the future of our community and the lives of our students. It's in our DNA. Our College thrives today, is stronger today because we have never given in to the pull of the past.

MCC is a leader because we drive change, we are not driven by it. Your voices in this change are important and are represented in shared governance by SGA and SEGA and on the Board of Trustees by the elected Student Trustee Abdullah Abdullah Alshalchi. Two recent examples of how you, our students, are reshaping our College are worth mentioning:

  • Consistently, you have identified the cost of public transportation as a challenge to your success. We listened. MCC became the first college in our region to provide students with a universal bus pass. The UPass was used by 1,566 students in October, who took a total of 58,762 rides: an average of 38 rides per rider over that month. We are reviewing this data and more as we consider how to keep the UPass available for the students who most need it without increasing the cost of education for students who do not.
  • Consistently, you have identified a need for expanded health services at MCC, including services at the Downtown Campus. We listened. MCC is now exploring how the College can continue to provide the current level of health services at no additional cost to students while also offering access to more advanced health care onsite that would be supported by students' health insurance.

We know that issues well outside of the classroom, such as transportation and health, impact your academic success. Services such as MCC's DWIGHT food pantry and Dreamkeepers microgrants have made a difference for you. College affordability is your central concern, and your voices matter as MCC sets tuition and fees, reduces textbook costs through open educational resources, and pushes to increase scholarships. You are why we are here.

Monroe Community College has always been a leader because our responsibility to you demands nothing less.

Kress, Anne
President
11/14/2018