As pressure mounts on community colleges to demonstrate success and completion, and larger numbers of the unemployed or underemployed explore their academic prospects, new college students often wonder how they will handle the transition into the college classroom.
"There's a lot more involved in walking into a college classroom today than signing up for a class and picking out your textbook," said Preston D. Cameron, Occupational Program Director in MCC’s General Business Program. "The increased use of technology both inside and outside the classroom is just one example of how a college class experience can seem rather frightening for someone who has been away from traditional education for some time.”
For the Spring 2013 semester MCC’s General Business Program has introduced a fresh cohort of courses to help new college students with these jitters. Identified within the MCC class schedule as their Pre-College Program, the Business & Information Systems (BIS) Department is offering a menu of courses to help new students adjust to a college classroom, investigate the career discipline of business, and develop basic beneficial skills that can aid the student should they decide that college just is not for them.
“The Business and Information Systems Department strives to provide our students and the community with quality educational opportunities in a variety of program opportunities,” said Dr. Linda Collins, Chair of the Business and Information Systems Department. “Our courses, certificates, and degrees prepare students for career opportunities in Business, Marketing, Management, Real Estate, Computer Information Systems, Networking, and Design and Fashion Merchandising.”
Utilizing MCC’s Admissions process, the BIS Department can now provide pre-college opportunities for underrepresented students and students who need additional academic preparation. “One of the goals of this program is to enhance higher education learning and access, help new college students understand the expectations of college, and help more of these students make it to and through college,” Cameron said.
The Pre-College program will provide incoming students with an interactive, healthy perspective on handling the stress and excitement associated with a move to college life. The courses will serve as an open forum for discussing business course expectations, tempering the angst of a business course, and formulating a clear plan for a student’s first semester on campus.
The program includes courses in Business Math & Calculations, Personal & Family Financial Security, Workplace Readiness Skills, Workplace Communication Skills, and Writing Resumes. Students also get a chance to study the leadership role in the business environment and are introduced to the leadership strategies that give an organization a competitive edge by looking at the current developments within the world of business and leadership.
“Our Pre-College Business Studies Program is an excellent opportunity for adult students who wish to reenter the academic environment or who have never attended college previously and would like to enter the world of business to learn about general business practices,” says Dr. Collins. “It is a great way for students to prepare for entry into our Business degree programs which includes a variety of Associate of Arts degrees that can lead to Bachelor degree transfer programs at our partnering universities.”
Selected courses can be used as electives when transferring to a partnering University, or as part of the flexible study degrees.
“We are working with campus advisors to ensure that students are properly identified and enrolled into this program,” Cameron said. “We expect business student performance, retention, and persistence to increase as a result of this cooperative enrollment process. Students can expect to receive personal attention and focused instruction to help them assimilate to the world of higher education and prepare for a more rigorous college degree program.”
For more information on the Pre-College Program, interested students can contact the Business & Information Systems Department directly by visiting the department website at: www.mesacc.edu/business
About Mesa Community College
Mesa Community College provides outstanding transfer and career and technical programs, workforce development, and life-long learning opportunities to residents of the East Valley area of Phoenix, Arizona. MCC excels in teaching, learning and empowering its more than 40,000 students to succeed in a local and global community. Mesa Community College is one of ten colleges that comprise the Maricopa County Community College District.
Please direct media inquiries to Angela Askey at angela.askey@mesacc.edu or Sally Mesarosh at sally.mesarosh@mesacc.edu or the Office of Institutional Advancement at 480-461-7445. IA website: www.mesacc.edu/ia.