Mountain Empire Community College
First-year interventions, cooperative learning, and supplemental instruction in gateway courses are the strategies Mountain Empire Community College (MECC) has used successfully to increase completion of degrees and certificates.
The three-year completion rate of full-time MECC students increased from 16% for the 2002 cohort to 28% for the 2007 cohort.
MECC scaled its Freshman Orientation Experience (FOX) based on positive student evaluations and the following data:
- In June 2008, after three FOX sessions, 281 first-time-in-college (FTIC) students enrolled compared to only 45 FTIC enrolled in June 2007.
- More than 90% of participants in the first six FOX sessions attended MECC. Sixty-eight percent enrolled in a onecredit student orientation course, and 61% earned an A in the course.
MECC serves the residents of rural Lee, Scott, Wise, and Dickenson counties and the city of Norton in southwest Virginia.
In Fall 2009, MECC had 3,380 students. Two percent were African American, 61% were women, 57% attended classes part-time, and 38% received Pell grants.
The decline of mining and manufacturing has left the residents of southwest Virginia among the most economically disadvantaged populations in the state. While MECC cultivates a college-going culture with its Achieving the Dream strategies, its workforce development and degree programs are helping to diversify the local economy.
MECC used its Achieving the Dream work to demonstrate its commitment to planning and improvement during re-accreditation. Its new strategic plan includes student success goals.
With federal grant support MECC will integrate Cooperative Learning in all of its online courses. The college recently mandated that all faculty participate in professional development to scale cooperative learning for in-person and online instruction.
MECC began a new Student Advocate strategy in 2011 to expand outreach and retention activities.
MECC is developing a Math Emporium as part of its involvement in the Virginia Community College System’s redesign of developmental mathematics.
The Achieving the Dream Model
Achieving the Dream community colleges commit to our Student-Centered Model of Institutional Improvement. Based on four principles, the model frames the overall work of helping more students, particularly low- income students and students of color, stay in school and earn a college certificate or degree.
Each college approaches the work differently, but Achieving the Dream’s five-step process provides practical guidelines for keeping the focus where it belongs and building momentum over time. Throughout the process, Achieving the Dream coaches offer customized support and help each college’s core team implement data-informed programs and policies that build long-term, institution-wide commitment to student success.
Achieving the Dream Leader Colleges
Leader Colleges are demonstrating the power of the Achieving the Dream Student-Centered Model of Institutional Improvement. They show us it is possible to raise persistence and graduation rates, close achievement gaps, and change lives. Leader Colleges embody the ultimate goal of Achieving the Dream, and as such, serve as mentors within our community of learners.
To be eligible for Leader College distinction, colleges must show three or more years of improvement on one or more of these five measures:
- Course completion
- Advancement from developmental to credit-bearing courses
- Completion of college-level math and English courses
- Term-to-term and year-to-year retention
- Completion of certificates or degrees
