MCC-Maple Woods takes on “best practices” at spring inservice

To meet the rising challenges of more students, less money and the need for constant innovation, MCC-Maple Woods dedicated spring inservice to looking at best practices in education, from accreditation to connecting with different kinds of students to employees managing their own practices to better serve their departments and themselves.

Cynthia Proctor, Math, Physics and Communications division chair, shared that MCC has been selected, along with other two- and four-year institutions, to participate in a new pilot program from the Higher Learning Commission for reaccreditation, which is due again in 2015-2016. Along with other national colleges and universities, MCC will participate in the HLC Open Pathways program. The program was offered to schools with a solid record of accreditation, inviting them to participate in the four-year Academy for Assessment of Student Learning.

All work conducted for the Open Pathways program will lead to a less mammoth undertaking during reaccreditation visits in the future – electronic files will be required, along with periodic updates, to keep the process streamlined and accessible, resulting in less cost, less labor cost, and a more streamlined process for MCC.

Serving the needs of different groups of students, from traditional high school graduates to returning veterans to those returning to education after many years in the workforce is one of the greatest challenges any institution faces. Andy Forester, evening and weekend coordinator at MCC-Penn Valley and chaplain for the United States National Guard, helped faculty and staff understand some of the needs of veterans returning to school after active duty and some of the challenges they face when transitioning back to civilian life.

Kim Fernandes, Kathryn Barker, Mary Northrup, Mary Ann Blitt, Ayanna Bridges, Crystal Johnson, Jessica Halperin and Kenneth Snell all gave presentations on how to best serve our students and ourselves for the next semester.

Welcome back to MCC-Maple Woods, student faculty and staff – we look forward to an exciting semester!