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MCC Daily Tribune Archive

President's Wednesday Message


Over the past few weeks, I’ve had several opportunities to do something I truly love: listen to and learn from our students. I seize chances throughout the term to hover around, overhearing conversations—whether in the Marketplace, the corridors, Java’s, the bus stop, or any random place. To augment my usual eavesdropping, several times each semester I also spend extended time with our student leaders across multiple campuses over lunches and ask them one question: “What is MCC doing well and what are we doing not so well?” That’s really all it takes — the conversation zooms from there and an hour can easily turn into two. Today I thought I’d share a few insights I’ve taken away from my most recent discussions.

1) Students wish MCC would require some form of Orientation and make it accessible throughout their MCC career. They voiced this with a passion and poignancy that surprised me, describing how they missed out on valuable services, assistance, guidance, tutoring and more because, well into their MCC journeys, they were still trying to figure out how the College worked, where things were, and who to ask.

2) Students would simplify MCC’s processes. They would design a “single stop” approach to providing services, make finding and applying for scholarships easier (and online), create more structured and streamlined degree pathways, and more.

3) Students would take some of the best elements of leadership development and integrate them into the curriculum of courses common to most majors. They believed their success in the face of many, many personal hurdles was often due to the connections and knowledge they developed through co-curricular and leadership opportunities. But most students do not participate in student life, so embedding some of these activities in COS-courses, for example, appealed to them.

4) Students wish they had an MCC-sponsored way to thank the faculty, staff, and peers who helped them stick it out and be successful. They were looking for some way of simply “saying thanks”—like a virtual thank you card or a reception. They recognized that their success was equal parts (or unequal parts, depending on the day!) their own effort and the diligence of others. They appreciate your work and want you to know.

5) And, most importantly, students LOVE MCC. Those caps are intentional. If I could, I’d make the word light up and dance, too. The students I met with came from privilege and poverty; they were headed to work or to elite transfer colleges; they were fresh from high school or were about to send their own children to high school. To a person, regardless of how they would make MCC better, they treasured the College as it stands, the opportunity it gives them to find their own paths, the faculty and staff who take a personal interest in their success, the incredible and incredibly diverse friends they make.

Why do I love listening to our students? Lots of reasons, but I’ll leave you with three. One, their censoring filter is very often set to “off” -- which is related to two, they offer concrete criticisms and suggestions. And, I saved the best reason for last: they’re why we’re here.

What do YOU hear from our students? Share your comments on my blog.

Anne Kress
Office of the President
04/17/2013