Mercer County Community College
Type | Community College |
---|---|
Established | 1966 |
President | Dr. Jianping Wang |
Students | 13,000+ |
Location | West Windsor, New Jersey, USA |
Campus | West Windsor, Trenton |
Website | http://www.mccc.edu/ |
Mercer County Community College (MCCC) is an accredited, co-educational, two-year, public, community college located in Mercer County, New Jersey. The school's current president is Dr. Jianping Wang as of July 1, 2015. More than 13,000 students enroll in one or more credit courses each year.
Established in 1966, MCCC is a publicly supported comprehensive educational institution that provides opportunities for higher education through an open-door admission policy. The 292-acre (1.18 km2) West Windsor Campus was opened in 1971 to serve the needs of Mercer County residents. The main buildings on campus feature brutalist architecture, once popular in 1960's college campus construction. The newly expanded James Kerney Campus, located in downtown Trenton, serves as an educational and cultural hub for city residents.
Dual admission
Students can also enroll in a dual admissions program, which guarantees transfer into the junior year at six New Jersey colleges: Rutgers University, Rider University, The College of New Jersey, Montclair State University, the New Jersey Institute of Technology and Thomas Edison State College. Mercer County Community College is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. In addition to the colleges noted above MCCC students have continued their educations at University of Rochester, Stanford University, Strayer University, University of Phoenix, Harvard University, The New School, New York University, Cornell University, and Columbia University.
Accreditation
The college is accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and is authorized by the State of New Jersey's Commission on Higher Education to award associate degrees. Many of the college's academic programs are also accredited by national professional associations and their boards of certification.
The college's nursing program is accredited by the New Jersey Board of Nursing and the National League for Nursing Accreditation Commission. The Radiography program is accredited by the Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology and approved by the New Jersey Radiologic Technology Board of Examiners. The Medical Laboratory Technology program is accredited by the National Credentialing Agency for Laboratory Personnel. The Physical Therapist Assistant program is fully accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education of the American Physical Therapy Association.
The Legal Assistant program is approved by the American Bar Association. The Funeral Service program is accredited by the American Board of Funeral Service Education. Aviation Flight Technology is accredited by the Council on Aviation Accreditation.
Mercer has a program for students with special needs, called the Dream program, run by the offices of Special Services located on the West Windsor Campus. The program has students who are in the college work as mentors to the students who need help for the semester.
Performing arts
In 2006, the Academic Theatre and Dance Programs at the college assumed new direction under Program Coordinator Jody P. Person. In partnership with the Entertainment Technology Program, the Theatre and Dance Programs set out to offer students two-year training in the performing arts after the model of a four-year conservatory.
In September 2008, the programs adopted a new logo and moniker, "MCCC On Stage," to represent the combined output of the Theatre, Dance, and Entertainment Technology Programs. According to the most recent program description to appear in a Theatre Program production playbill:
The Theatre and Entertainment Technology Programs at MCCC combine intensive classroom study and hands-on experience to challenge the serious student who aspires to a career in the entertainment industry or wishes to pursue training at a four-year conservatory or liberal arts program. The Theatre Program is dedicated to developing the total actor who can cope with the demands of the contemporary stage and work with a range of dramatic materials – from classical to modern, musicals to the avant-garde – that reflect current productions in the theatre centers of this country today.
Theatre, Dance, and Entertainment Technology Program faculty include Person (Theatre, Rutgers University Mason Gross School of the Arts, MFA), Janell Byrne (Dance, Juilliard), Robert Terrano (Entertainment Technology), M. Kitty Getlick (Kelsey Theatre), Kate Pinner (Stagecraft, Yale School of Drama), Alex DeFazio (Theatre, Columbia University, MFA), and Louis Wells (Theatre, Rutgers University Mason Gross School of the Arts, MFA).
The Theatre Program is also home to the college's Drama Club, which produces Late Night Series, a twice-monthly open-mic night on campus.
Athletics
MCCC is a member of the Garden State Athletic Conference and the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). Its teams are known as the Mercer Vikings.[1] It fields teams in baseball, men's and women's basketball, women's cross country, men's and women's soccer, softball, and men's and women's tennis.[1]
Clubs and Government
MCCC is home to a wide variety of clubs and student activities boards.
- Christian Fellowship
- Drama Club
- Future Teachers Club
- Go Green Club
- International Student Organization
- L.G.B.T.F Club - Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Friends
- Muslim Student Association (MSA)
- Phi Beta Lambda
- Phi Theta Kappa
- Philosophy Club
- Programs for Academic Services and Success Club
- Student Government Association
- The College VOICE - student newspaper
- Viking 89 Radio Station
Notable alumni
- Jim Adams
- Bill Andracki
- Antron Brown, drag racer[2]
- Dave Gallagher, former Major League Baseball player
- Stern John
- Daouda Kanté
- Darin Lewis
- Evans Wise
- Ken Wolski
- Sascha Haecker
Recent controversies
- President Jianping Wang admitted hiring a union official from MCCC to work on her personal residence shortly after assuming the presidency. A newspaper article reporting the incident cited possible violations of college ethics policies. 1
- MCCC was placed on warning in 2015 by the Middle States Council on Higher Education for failing to meet two accreditation standards. 2
- The MCCC Board of Trustees held an illegal public hearing while outsourcing the college's IT department to a for-profit company. 3
- MCCC was investigated by the Office of Civil Rights (U.S. Department of Education) for violations of Title IX. The college signed an agreement with OCR to correct the violations. 4
- After numerous complaints about MCCC's nursing program, college officials drafted a release form for nursing students, stating the students understood the program was difficult and they might not pass it. When asked about it, a college VP told a newspaper reporter, “The annual nature of this outreach by students of this nature is more of a reflection on the aspirations of the students and the rigors of the curriculum than it is frankly on the structure of the program or the quality of our faculty or the curriculum. There are many students every year who are disappointed by not being able to succeed academically in the nursing program.” 5
See also
- New Jersey County Colleges
- WWFM (classical music radio station owned by MCCC)
References
- 1 2 MCCC Athletics. Mercer County Community College official website. Retrieved 2014-07-11.
- ↑ Hoppes, Lynn (November 30, 2012). "Antron Brown's path to history wasn't easy". ESPN Playbook. ESPN. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
1. http://www.trentonian.com/article/TT/20151006/NEWS/151009862 2- http://www.trentonian.com/article/TT/20151202/NEWS/151209960 3 - http://www.trentonian.com/article/TT/20160121/NEWS/160129926 4- http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2015/11/federal_probe_found_title_ix_deficiencies_at_merce.html 5 - http://www.trentonian.com/general-news/20160113/mccc-nursing-students-claim-they-are-forced-to-sign-liability-form
External links
Coordinates: 40°15′14″N 74°39′11″W / 40.254°N 74.653°W