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MCC Daily Tribune Archive

President's Wednesday Message


High-quality faculty and staff, peer mentors, tutoring, learning centers, advisement, personal counseling, professional development, financial literacy training, affordable tuition, bridge programs, high school outreach, accelerated programs, honors classes, learning communities, support programs, scholarships, career counseling, neighborhood outreach, civic engagement, dual enrollment, partnerships with community-based organizations, structured placement testing, integrated basic skills curriculum, assessment of prior learning, student organizations …

Quite a list, and it could go on. The common denominator for all these activities and programs is that they’re offered by MCC. If we put our heads together, we could likely generate dozens and dozens of white boards filled with even more services and programs offered at MCC because of the great work of individuals, disciplines, departments, offices, and divisions. Last week’s White House College Opportunity Summit generated a similar list of programs submitted by colleges and universities across the country, large and small, public and private. All are aimed at increasing opportunity and improving outcomes for college students. The challenge, however, remains: It seems like we’re doing all we can and more, yet the completion and transfer rates of our students suggest it’s still not enough. So, what are we missing?

Judging by the density of the list itself, it’s likely not another program or service. Instead, maybe what we’re missing is a roadmap to help students successfully navigate their college experiences and these options. From this premise, MCC is beginning to build “Pathways” that align and structure students’ academic journeys, making them more intentional and promoting greater engagement with the services they most need. These Pathways start with the student at the center, contextualize and ground the student academic experience within a set of disciplines, integrate co-curricular services that support student learning and retention, provide regular feedback to the student, and build structured connections that increase the likelihood that the student will achieve success.

To be sure, no pathway, no map can guarantee that one will arrive happily at a destination, on time and worry free. But, it is equally true that traveling without a map along an uncertain pathway significantly limits the chance that one will arrive at the right place -- ever. At the College Opportunity Summit, President Obama observed, “we don’t promise equal outcomes; we’ve strived to deliver equal opportunity -- the idea that success does not depend on being born into wealth or privilege, it depends on effort and merit.” The Pathways initiative strives to give students the support they need to take advantage of the opportunity to achieve at MCC; it is a map derived from our mission. Last Friday’s Pathways workshops drew strong participation from across the college. That enthusiasm and interest is a great way to kick off the new year. To learn more about the Pathways initiative, please contact Provost Mike McDonough. To share your thoughts about what needs to be part of Pathways, please comment on the blog.

    Anne M. Kress
    President's Office
    01/22/2014