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MCC Daily Tribune

Another Successful Unlocking Opportunity Site Visit

Our Unlocking Opportunity: The Post-Graduation Success and Equity Network coach, Mary Rittling, and valued Aspen Institute colleagues, Pascale Charlote and Katie Snyder, completed their annual site visit earlier this month. We are pleased to share that all three were highly impressed with our progress toward our established goals.

During their visit, the trio met with our Unlocking Opportunity Implementation Team members and held individual sessions with key campus stakeholders leading our efforts to enhance holistic academic advising and transfer services. These conversations included MCC’s engagement with the SUNY Transfer Task Force.

On behalf of President Burt-Nanna and the Executive Leadership Team, we express our sincere gratitude to all who have contributed to our progress to date. Our accomplishments are a direct result of the time, energy, and expertise that our talented colleagues have invested in our mission to transform students' lives by enhancing post-completion success outcomes.

As you know, MCC has identified three strategic priorities, in alignment with Vision2027, as the focus for our Unlocking Opportunity efforts. Here is a brief update for each:

Advising Reimagined

We are transitioning our advising framework from a transactional approach to a transformational one, with the goal of helping more students—including students of color and those from lower-income backgrounds—complete programs that lead to family-sustaining wages or a bachelor's degree. We know that students who need advising the most often do not typically seek it out. Students who regularly engage in advising and have in-depth conversations about their plans for the future are more likely to persist toward their goals.

  • In March, MCC's Student Success & Advising Services and Career Services team members attended the MCC to SUNY Brockport Pathways Forum. MCC's staff had the opportunity to meet SUNY Brockport representatives, learn about academic programs, transfer student opportunities, and tour the campus.
  • Enrollment Management, Student Success and Strategic Initiatives, and Computing & Information Technology collaborated on an intent-to-enroll process to connect incoming students with a student success coach. 

The Advising Reimagined team is exploring additional ways to capture student voice in advising and during onboarding. The team has partnered with Institutional Research to develop an advising and onboarding survey for students.

Gateway English and Math

  • English and Math Faculty, in collaboration with TAAC staff, have completed their TAAC evaluation report and made recommendations for numerous faculty-led initiatives to increase and enhance student and faculty engagement with the TAAC.
  • A corequisite for College Algebra received final approval, and two sections will be offered in the fall 2025 semester. This course is designed for students who either need a refresher in Intermediate Algebra or have earned a grade of C- in the course yet wish to advance to College Algebra..
  • The Mathematics Department has completed the planning phase for its Summer Professional Learning Institute, to be held June 25-26.
  • English faculty are preparing for a professional development workshop in June. The workshop will focus on student enrollment and success data, lessons learned, and next steps. It will help faculty connect the dots between the Summer Institute (June 2024) and their work over the past two semesters on improving success in gateway English. 
  • The one-credit lab for English 101 students will be piloted in fall 2025.

Program Mapping

While more than 64% of students enroll at MCC with the intention of transferring to a four-year institution, fewer than 15% ultimately reach that goal within three years of coming to the College. Rethinking how we deliver information during the onboarding process and present it on our website is a crucial step to ensuring students and parents understand our transfer and workforce programs and potential earnings in their chosen career paths. The program mapping team has been researching how similar information is presented to students at our Aspen partner schools and will recommend some comparable formats for MCC.

  • Sessions with MCC's contractor for the website continue; program pages are being discussed.
  • Transfer improvement efforts include a new BrightSpace course for students interested in transferring to a four-year partner institution. Forty students have participated in the course, and new advertising should dramatically increase participation.
  • The College Now/Dual Enrollment program is streamlining its offerings to expand and provide intentional pathways that align with MCC's degree programs. The College Now/Dual Enrollment K-12 Coordinator position will be posted soon.
  • The program assessment platform RFP is in progress and data integration will likely take place in the fall.
  • Rebecca Mack is serving on the SUNY Transfer Advisory Council's Student Transfer Services subcommittee. This subcommittee will provide recommendations to improve the SUNY transfer student experience and transfer processes. Additionally, Rebecca is serving as the MCC transfer liaison to the SUNY Office of Transfer and Articulation (OTA).

Once again, behalf of the Unlocking Opportunity Implementation Team, thank you for your commitment to this vital work. It is an exciting time for Monroe Community College. Our history of innovation inspires us to advance our mission in support of our students and community.

Dr. Mike Jacobs and Dr. Robin Cole Jr.

Michael Jacobs
Academic and Student Affairs
05/22/2025