MCC-Blue River asks..."Are you ready for a throw down?"

MCC-Blue River is hosting the second annual Transfer Trivia Throwdown. This event is a competition for Blue River student groups, clubs and organizations to prove what they know; learn a bit more and win some cold, hard cash for their organizational cause!

Up to five student groups will participate. Their challenge is to correctly answer a series of questions about transferring to four year schools. Mark your calendar for:

Thursday, Feb. 3, 2011
12:15 p.m. to 1 p.m.
Blue River Campus Center Lobby

The winning group will be awarded $100 to use within their club, organization, or team!

MCC-Maple Woods service learning students to prepare free tax returns

MCC-Maple Woods is offering free federal and state income tax preparation for moderate- and low-income households in the Metro area. The free tax preparation sessions will be held Wednesdays from 4:30-7:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. in the MCC-Maple Woods Computer-Business Room 105 Feb. 2-Apr. 13, 2011. There also will be additional sessions from 1-4 p.m. each Friday in Feb. There will be no sessions March 16 and 19 due to spring break. Household income cannot exceed $49,000 to be eligible for free filing.

Participants should bring the following documents with them: Social Security Card or Individual Tax Identification number (ITIN) for each family member; valid photo ID from Missouri or Kansas; W-2 forms for all jobs worked in 2010; any 1099 forms for other income received in 2010; childcare provider name, address and tax ID number; any other tax-related document you have received; voided bank check for automatic deposit; and a copy of 2009 tax return. All adults listed on the tax return must be present to sign the forms.

The tax preparations are part of the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. Taxes will be prepared by MCC-Maple Woods accounting students who have been trained and certified by the IRS.

Culprit & the Cure begins today!

The Culprit & the Cure email book club for MCC employees begins today, and there is still time to sign up. If you want to join many of your colleagues who plan to complete this program (and earn a wellness medal of honor), visit with one of your wellness reps to sign up. The cost of the book is a mere $3.

Careers Unlimited picks up sponsor, picks up speed

Students at last year's Careers Unlimited exploration and career fair saw hands-on careers through a whole new lens.

Next month, nearly 3,000 high school students will converge on the MCC-Business & Technology campus for the third annual Careers Unlimited exploration and career fair. And for the first time, the fair has a leading corporate sponsor: Cerner Corporation.

The event, which will be held on Wednesday, February 9, at the MCC Exhibit Hall, provides local high school youth an opportunity to explore various career fields in a tradeshow-like format. The event has been growing in popularity among students and employers since its inception in 2009.

"This is a chance for students to browse a lot of hands-on career options they may not have been aware of or to get more information about options they've already been considering," said Careers Unlimited coordinator Katie Cone. "In the last two years, we've found that it's also a good recruiting tool for MCC."
The students will be able to explore MCC's 80 career and technical degree and certificate programs which blend classroom instruction with hands-on skill development.

Students can compete for more than $3,000 in prizes

For the second year in a row, MCC college students can compete in the 2nd Annual Amtrak TRAINSportation (that’s not a typo) Video Contest.

Amtrak is looking for a winning video travelogue from students in Illinois, Michigan, Missouri and Wisconsin for the chance to win more than $3,000 worth of prizes including a MacBook Air, a Fuji 3D Digital Camera and travel on Amtrak.

Students can enter the contest by submitting a train travel-themed video by Feb. 28, 2011, here.

Submissions will be judged by industry experts including Andrew Schneider, publisher/editor of Screen Magazine, Lori Rackl, travel editor of the Chicago Sun-Times, and Stephen Harris, director of nonfiction and alternative programming for A&E Television Network. Amtrak plans to use the winning video in future promotional campaigns.

For more information, contest rules, prize details and to enter the 2nd Annual Amtrak TRAINsportation Video Contest please visit the website.

MCC-Maple Woods welcomes new students at orientation

First time students, whether they are fresh out of high school, returning to school after several years away or transferring from another institution, find helpful information and welcoming faces at the beginning of each semester.

New student orientation, sponsored by the campus life and leadership and admissions offices, give students an opportunity to get familiar with the campus, learn what they need to do to be successful in their courses and how to manage their financial obligations.

MCC-Maple Woods hosts 3-4 new student orientation sessions each semester, focusing on different groups for specialized information – re-entry students, traditional students and students receiving A+ benefits.

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2nd Annual Lee's Summit Fine Arts Challenge opening reception TONIGHT

Check out this video from the 2010 Fine Arts Challenge

The MCC-Longview Cultural Arts Center is proud to present its second annual Lee’s Summit Fine Arts Challenge, a high school fine arts competition and exhibit featuring the works of high school students from the three Lee’s Summit High Schools.

Tonight's opening ceremony and awards presentation will kick off the month-long exhibition that has become one of the Cultural Arts Center's most popular events.

“This is a great opportunity for high school students to interact with fellow art students and professional artists here at MCC-Longview,” said Daniel Reneau, MCC-Longview Cultural Arts Center gallery manager.
This year, officials have invited David Harrison, a painting instructor at the Kansas City Art Institute, to judge the competition and selected the top high school artists in Lee’s Summit.

Sandra Van Tuyl’s works to be featured in “Transitional Dimensions” exhibit at Carter Art Center

Sandra Van Tuyl is one of three local artists whose works will be featured in “Transitional Dimensions,” an exhibit that explores the concept of depth within space that is both real and suggested. The exhibit will open Feb. 4 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Carter Art Center at MCC-Penn Valley, 3201 Southwest Trafficway. An artist talk will begin at 6:30 p.m. The show will be sponsored by the Friends of the Carter Art Center.

The exhibit will run until March 4 Tuesdays-Fridays 1 to 5 p.m. and Saturdays Noon-3 p.m.

A professional artist for the past 14 years, and a Kansas City native, Sandra Van Tuyl uses structures and deserted urban spaces to create emotional language. These dreamlike paintings have been accepted to regional exhibitions throughout the Midwest - from the Williams Wood University in Fulton, Missouri to the Salina Art Center and the Lincoln Center in Fort Collins, Colorado.

MCC-Longview honors staff and faculty who go above and beyond

The MCC-Longview First Learning Year Team once again honored those important faculty and staff members who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to ensure that students are successful in their first academic year here.

This year, the FLYT Best Practices committee awarded four outstanding individuals with the award.

The first two recipients, associate dean Marvin Aaron and Dean Beth Lindquist, were nominated individually, but were be awarded together.

They were given the FLYT Best Practices Award, as without them there would be no First Learning Year Team. These individuals have persevered in the face of resistance with good humor and magnanimity to keep FLYT alive and flourishing on our campus.

The next two recipients, Bridget Gold and Becky Foster, were nominated as a team.

They have supported first year students by promoting scholarship, effective study skills, creating opportunities for students to utilize campus resources, and demonstrating teamwork through the use of the learning center and through the teaching of a learning community.

Congratulations to all the recipients!

Past recipients of the FLYT Best Practices award were:

2009
Diane Bailey, John Church, Burke Maxted, and Connie Flick-Hruska, Kim Prosak, Cathy-Hardy Parcell

2010
Mary Abraham, Greg Loftin, Stephen Reinbold, Joan Bergstrom, Greg Loftin

Inclement Weather

All MCC evening classes are cancelled for 1/20/11.

MCC-Maple Woods students, faculty and staff get busy, dirty during “A Day On”

Crafting, cleaning, cooking, painting – faces and walls – and organizing were all a part of the amazing effort put forth by MCC-Maple Woods students, staff, faculty and administrators during MCC’s MLK Day of Service 2011.

More than 50 volunteers took to the Northland with six service projects to keep everyone busy.

The Student Center was home to craft central, where volunteers made fleece blankets and photo frames for the Northland Children’s Mercy residents. Several volunteers organized and helped unload items at Hillcrest Thrift Store, working the loading docks and helping to tag clothing and organize the larger items. The Hillcrest Transitional Housing facility in Liberty, Mo., got a fresh coat of paint and the food pantry at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church got scrubbed, stocked and organized. Students and staff hosted a carnival for residents of the Heritage Village Assisted Living facility – this is where the face/head painting comes in – and a another group hosted a lunch for residents at one of Synergy’s safe houses for victims of domestic violence.

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Inclement Weather

MCC AC,PV,PIO,BTC,BR,MW,LV,BTC is closed due to inclement weather. See alert.mcckc.edu for more info.

Enrollment and Weather

Because of MCC Campus closings today, Jan. 20, 2011, the last date for on-line student enrollment will be extended to Tuesday of next week (Jan. 25 at 11:59 a.m.) in order to accommodate Tuesday/Thursday class enrollment. Campus enrollment would also be allowed until that time so that it matches student self service on-line enrollment.

Nursing will accept applications postmarked on Jan. 20th

The deadline for the Associate Degree Nursing application is Jan. 20. In case the MCC-Penn Valley Health Science Institute is closed due to expected bad weather conditions, applications that are postmarked on Jan. 20 will be accepted.

Emergency

All MCC locations will close today, 1/19/10 at 4:00 PM. Night classes have been cancelled.

Dual goes digital

MCC has long provided dual-credit courses and online courses, but this semester marks the first time the college has combined the two to offer an online dual-credit course.

As part of a growing partnership with Kearney High School, MCC is testing out this innovative course structure with a pilot English 102 course that began in early January. The course is taught by Jodi Puls, who teaches dual credit at MCC-Maple Woods and full-time at the high school.

Lynn Barron, associate dean of instruction at MCC-Maple Woods, said that more online dual-credit courses are currently being explored.

MCC-Maple Woods Student Ambassadors awarded for dedication and leadership

Student Ambassador Leadership Awards were recently presented for outstanding work and contribution to the MCC-Maple Woods campus for Fall 2010.

Duc Nguyen received the Ambassador Rookie of the Semester Award which recognizes first-time ambassadors for exemplary service and excellent performance during their first semester as an Ambassador. Duc was the videographer for the group and made great videos promoting ambassadors and their events. He will assume the role of Social Chair for the Spring 2011 semester.

Ashley Brimeyer received the Extraordinary Monarch Award. Ashley exhibited high levels of professionalism and leadership along with an above-and-beyond work ethic devoted to developing a positive team atmosphere for the group. Ashley served as the Ambassador Secretary and has accepted the position of Vice President of Internal Affairs for the Spring 2011 Semester.

What does community service mean to you?

It was a simple question posed by Kim Prosak, MCC-Longview's campus life and leadership coordinator, at the MLK Day of Service event on campus.

But the shocking truth is that community service meant so many different things to the 100 or so that had gathered to turn MLK Day into a day on rather than a day off.

Each person was asked to write down, sketch out or create that it meant to them. For each person who answered there was a different view, a different take and a different bit of artistic flare that proved to be a moving and colorful experience for everyone who participated.

For more photos from the MCC-Longview MLK Day of Service, check out our photo blog over on Flickr. 

MCC-Blue River Inservice Updates

The January 18 campus Inservice, facilitated by dean of student development, Jon Burke, delivered timely information and updates about MCC-Blue River’s recent changes and transitions.

Associate dean, Basil Lister shared that Blue River’s enrollment is at 4,129 which equals a 10% increase. This means Blue River has exceeded expectations once again!

Other updates included:

• Cheryl Carpenter Davis, an update on Administrator in Charge processes that will be followed while Dr. Seabrooks is at Penn Valley.

• Jeff Eubank will fill in for Sean Kitchell for technology needs and questions. You may reach him at 816.604.6645

• Bob Shrauner, Blue River’s physical facilities superintendant, said the campus recently recycled 9 tons of material. Removing trash cans from the classrooms has proven to be a good idea. “Students did a great job” he said.

Associate dean Karen Goos and her team are working to streamline processes to ensure the best and timeliest responses to student needs. Some changes (in addition to the remodeling) will be new systems, temporary role assignments and more.

The Welcome Center is currently manned with staff to meet a variety of student needs. The goal is a “one-stop shop”, meaning they will centralize services for student and faculty convenience. Questions may be directed to Student Development at 816.604.6558.

March is the anticipated date for completion of the remodeling.

MCC selected for pilot accreditation program

Accreditation is something that every institution of higher learning takes seriously – the ten-year review cycle encourages schools to strive to meet the education needs of the students they serve and prepare them to meet their goals. As it is now, MCC is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission via PEAQ – Program to Evaluate and Advance Quality. The campus was last accredited in 2006 and is due for another reaccreditation visit in 2016.

But MCC has been selected, along with other two- and four-year institutions, to participate in a new pilot program from the Higher Learning Commission. 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.

The academy will require participating institutions to design a project that meets college needs, appropriate in scope and significance for the institution. During the improvement project, institutions will be subject to regular HLC and peer reviews, and will have access to all the work done by previous institutions undergoing the pilot program.