Dear Friends of MCC,
As you may know, I was selected as the Interim President of MCC effective August 2, 2016, by the Chancellor of the Maricopa Community Colleges, Dr. Maria Harper-Marinick. I am honored to lead this great institution.
During my interim role, MCC will continue to move forward with several key strategic priorities. I’m confident that with the ongoing support and counsel of our city and community partners, the college will uphold its dedication to successfully serve our students and our community. Key priorities for the upcoming year include:
Guided Pathways to Success (GPS) - GPS is a framework that will help students identify their goals and needs, and chart clear routes to timely completion. Our goals in implementing GPS are to increase retention, decrease time to completion, lower educational costs for students, and improve student learning. GPS is a strategy that also incorporates MCC’s four institutional student learning outcomes – Communication, Critical Thinking, Civic Engagement, and Cultural and Global Engagement. Initial implementation of GPS will occur during the 2017-18 academic year.
Red Mountain Success – This year we celebrate 15 years of serving the East Valley through our Red Mountain Campus. Demands have changed since the Red Mountain campus was first envisioned as part of the Maricopa County Community College District’s 1994 bond package. We are realigning Red Mountain’s priorities in response to current realities. Vice Provost Nora Reyes and the Red Mountain Team will be focusing on growth initiatives and creating action teams to address specific objectives that promote enrollment development and student success. A Red Mountain Community Advisory Board has been established with Councilmember David Luna serving as chair.
Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) – Currently Hispanics account for 23% of MCC’s student enrollment, and data shows that the Latino population will continue to grow. Serving Latino students is about serving our community, and we will continue to enhance our efforts to engage the Latino community and advance the academic success of Latino students. One of the benefits of becoming a Hispanic Serving Institution is that resources put in place benefit all students. An MCC HSI Task Force was created last year and formed work teams focused on areas such as Early Outreach & College Access and Teaching & Learning Best Practices.
Strategic Partnerships and Alliances – I am committed to exploring new approaches for services we provide. Developing strategic partnerships and alliances with entities that can deliver economies of scale and outcomes that we alone cannot frees MCC faculty and staff to focus on our core mission, and better leverage our expertise, experience, and institutional knowledge.
Student success is MCC’s highest priority. I am happy to report positive increases in core outcomes such as course level completion and graduation rates. We also are excited to have been recently recognized by Accredited Schools Online as one of the top online colleges in Arizona, and the Aspen Institute as one of the top 150 community colleges in the nation.
The work ahead of us is challenging. It will require everyone working together for the common good. My team and I look forward to working with you; together, we can build a strong future for our community.
Sincerely,
Sasan Poureetezadi
MCC Interim President