MCC-Maple Woods finds innovative ways to reach out to current, prospective students

The days of singular college fairs, large campus tours and broad discussions with admissions reps are quickly becoming outdated ways of keeping in touch with prospective students. A campaign of constant contact, guiding prospective students as they begin to prepare for college until the time they graduate or transfer is part of MCC-Maple Woods’ new campaign to reach out to students in more innovative and interactive ways.

Social media giants like Facebook and Twitter have become the “hangout” for everyone aged 13 and up – students can get news and updates about everything. And we do mean everything. MCC-Maple Woods has stepped up its Facebook presence over the last year, filling Current Students and Prospective Students pages with information about campus activities, high school visits, testing dates,

See something suspicious? Report it!

The MCC Police Department has taken yet another step to empower students and employees to look out for one another.

The new MCC Tips Hotline allows any student, employee or guest at MCC to report suspicious activity anonymously by phone or online.

The purpose of these new tip-reporting tools, said Domenick Brouillette, associate director of public safety, is to engage the whole MCC community in campus safety by simplifying the process for reporting suspicious behavior or activity.

“Community involvement is the key to a good community oriented policing program,” said Brouillette. “And because we know some people hesitate

MCC Notify Me Text Messaging Interruption

It is crucial that MCC students and employees receive information about a crisis or weather related closings as quickly as possible. As such, MCC recently established the MCC Notify Me text messaging system, upgrading our ability to send text messages to students and employees who subscribe to this free service.

However, MCC has just learned that particular cell phone carriers have begun blocking these text messages from reaching subscribers. As a result, MCC is exploring alternatives that will insure text messages reach all intended recipients. In the meantime, please continue checking any of these sources, where emergency and weather-closing information will also be posted:

• your MCC e-mail
• the MCC home page
• MCC Alert web page
• Blackboard 
• myMCCKC portal.

We apologize for any inconvenience and will provide you with an update as soon as we have additional information.

Farewell, Lelain

Pictured left to right: Alex Grigsby, Teri Brooks, Erin Owensby, Lelain Lorenzen, Michelle Schmiedeler, Mike Ekey, Mary Birkel and Kim Riley.

After more than 13 years of service at MCC – 8 ½ at MCC-Penn Valley and five at BTC – Lelain Lorenzen is retiring. She was honored by her communication teammates at her last editorial meeting on Monday, where they bid farewell and good luck on her new endeavors.

MCC-Maple Woods International Communications Students present Global Holiday Week

Free picture slideshow made with Smilebox

MCCKC ranks near top of most-searched list on Google

MCCKC is the second fastest-growing search term in Kansas City, according to Google's annual Zeitgeist list of fastest-rising search terms.

In an article in yesterday's Kansas City Star, MCC was mentioned among other popular terms like "Staley High School" and "kcmo.org" as the top rising searches in the Kansas City area.

"This means Google is definitely one of the major gateways for gaining attention for MCC as a whole," said Mike Ekey, public relations coordinator at MCC-Longview and a close watcher of MCC's cyber footprint. "All of the work we have been doing to increase our page rank and realign our information over the past six months is worth it," Ekey said, referring to search engine optimization efforts led by the MCC web team and the district-wide marketing and public information teams.

Centralized phone system at the district’s Command Center

Over the summer, the public safety office main phone lines at each campus began forwarding their phones to the Public Safety Control Center, located at 1601 Prospect, during times when the campus office is vacant.

“The reason for the switch from calling the local public safety office to the command center was to improve response,” said Bill Hudson, chief of campus police. This change was made to ensure students and employees would contact a live person; weak cell phone signals didn’t allow the transferred calls to always reach campus safety. The change was intended to enhance customer service and provide better communication said Domenick Brouillette, associate director of public safety.

“When a call comes into the command center, all of the on duty officers can be contacted at one time,” said Hudson.

Due to this change, you may be asked for more information regarding your call for service. Since the Control Center will be receiving calls from all campuses, please provide the officer with the following information: (Caller ID does not show campus location).

· Your name
· Phone number you are calling from (when requested)
· Location you are calling from (campus, building, parking lot, etc.)
· Nature of call
· Call-back number

Any questions can be directed to contact Domenick Brouillette at 816.604.1370.

Michelle Schmiedeler: AC Employee of the Month

Michelle Schmiedeler, public information coordinator, is the staff employee of the month for the Administrative Center.

Michelle, who was nominated by September employee of the month, Donna Evans, has worked at MCC since 2003 and has held a number of staff leadership positions, including president of the AC staff association.

She consistently exhibits a diligent commitment to both her colleagues and MCC students. During her tenure as staff association president, Michelle spent much of her own time – and some of her own money – to ensure that AC staff felt appreciated and well-informed. Her keen, conscientious style of organizing and communicating made for meetings that were well-run and projects that were seen through from beginning to end. Even as president emeritus, Michelle’s commitment to office camaraderie has not waned: just a few weeks ago, recognizing an opportunity to help AC employees socialize and stay active, Michelle established a weekly after-work walking group.

Having previously worked on a campus, Michelle is quick to remind AC colleagues to be sure that we keep students at the top of our minds as we’re developing processes and procedures and as we’re going about our usual workdays. As an MCC-Penn Valley alumna, Michelle offers valuable insight into the student mindset, which is often elusive to others of us who have not sat in a classroom recently and may have little direct contact with students.

In her role as public information officer for the district, Michelle was instrumental in the creation and implementation of The MCC Insider, MCC’s new communication and news platform. In addition to her duties as PIO – which, last year, consisted of sharing her time with MCC-Blue River to help with their public relations efforts when they were without a PIO – Michelle also serves on the district wellness committee and the green initiatives task force.

The idea that she is making a difference for MCC students is what motivates Michelle to come to work every day. “I truly enjoy being a small part of the bigger picture of helping students,” she said. Regarding her role as a public information coordinator for the district, she said she enjoys, “the challenge of trying to improve communication throughout the district…to make information more available to employees.”

Michelle earned an associate’s of art from MCC-Penn Valley and is currently working on a bachelor’s of general studies with an emphasis in communication from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She participated in her first triathlon this summer – a feat that is punctuated by her decades-long fear of water – and this weekend, on Saturday, October 16, she will run in her first half marathon (that’s 13.1 miles!). She is also celebrating more than two years as a non-smoker.

Michelle takes great pride in her work at MCC and regularly goes above and beyond her job duties to ensure an impactful experience for students and a pleasant working environment for employees. We appreciate her for that!

A Message from MCC Chancellor, Mark James

Dear Students and Colleagues,
As we push past what was a very challenging week for us all, I am pleased to report to you that Dean Dimmitt returned home late last week and is recovering well. I would like to say he is resting, but showing his usual dedication, he insisted on participating in a meeting by phone with his colleagues very early Friday morning. We are grateful he is doing so well and anxious for his return to MCC-Penn Valley.
As we get back to our regular activities we will continue to be vigilant in reviewing our safety processes and plans. I am personally heading a top-down review of all of our security plans, technology, and notification processes. This week, I will also personally lead an after-action “hotwash” of the pre-event planning and actions taken in response to the Penn Valley incident.
My goal is to develop action items to enhance MCC’s security through a series of plans extending from improvements we can make within the next 30, 60, and 90 days. Some actions may take longer to implement. We are reaching out to external safety, security, and mental health experts to ensure we receive objective input and benchmarks for our activities. We will also be convening student leaders as well as the governance group leaders for their input. I am receiving comments and ideas and remind you that you can email them to Denise Prather in my office at Denise.Prather@mcckc.edu.
In the end, the best safety and security measures a public institution can have are those which are simple, communicated, known, understood, and most importantly - regularly rehearsed. We will not “knee-jerk” react or impose an armed encampment mentality hiding behind metal detectors but will focus on ensuring student and employee awareness of what to do, when to do it, and how to do it.
Finally, I want to thank all of you for pulling together as one MCC community. This is a great place to work, study, and train.
Sincerely,
Mark

Meet Terri Brooks

Teri Brooks recently joined the MCC-Blue River team as the part-time public information specialist in the marketing department. Housed in the Dean’s Suite, she will work closely with marketing coordinator, Bob Florence, to assemble, broadcast and compile campus public interest stories on the Blue River website, The MCC Insider and other social media outlets.

“I’m excited to be part of the MCC team and am eager to spotlight the very best Blue River has to offer,” said Brooks. “Everyone has been incredibly kind and accommodating. I’m thrilled to be part of such a committed and professional team!”

Brooks brings a wide range of skills and experiences to Blue River. For the last several years, she’s enjoyed a thriving consulting business with an array of corporate and nonprofit clients- both locally and nationally. In addition to training, Brooks is a creative web designer and HTML programmer.

She attributes her expansive skill base to her roots in nonprofit. “For over ten years, I served as manager of community relations at an organization called YouthNet,” she says with a smile. “I learned most of my skills there because in nonprofit one learns to wear multiple hats to get the work done.”

A Kansas City native, Brooks is proud to be active in the Kansas City community through Sisters Helping Sisters, Inc., a nonprofit devoted to women parenting alone. She is also the Kansas City Motherhood writer for the Examiner.Com.

Brooks is a graduate of the University of Missouri-Kansas City and resides in Eastern Jackson County with her husband, John and their two sons.

The Blue River team is thrilled to welcome Brooks to the community and looks forward to many years of collaborative success.

She can be reached at (816) 604-6574 or via email at terri.brooks@mcckc.edu.