2019-20 General Catalog

Welcome to McLennan Community College's General Catalog. This website will help you find information about MCC policies, procedures, programs and courses.

Learn about how to become a student, financial aid options, degrees and certificates offered and much more.

For more information, visit our About McLennan site (http://www.mclennan.edu/about/) or How to Become a Student page (http://www.mclennan.edu/admissions/become-a-student/), or call Highlander Central (http://www.mclennan.edu/highlander-central/) at 254-299-8622.

Our Mission

McLennan Community College's mission is to engage, educate, and enrich its community.

The College ensures access to pathways for student success through excellent workforce and transfer programs, student services, and continuing education. These programs promote proficiency in identified student learning outcomes, successful course completion, graduation, employment, and transfer to a senior institution. The College embraces diversity and strengthens its communities through successful educational attainment, strong leadership, sustainability efforts, best practices, community service, and integrity.

Core Values

All choices, decisions, and actions of McLennan Community College and the individuals associated with it arise from and are consistent with the following core values:

  1. Excellence requires a commitment to allocating the time, effort, and resources to ensure superior achievement.
  2. Integrity earns the public's trust through principled leadership and achieves the highest levels of honesty and ethical behavior.
  3. Innovation promotes and affirms the spirit of invention and creativity.
  4. Inclusion assures educational opportunities are available to the community through open enrollment; multiple delivery methods; and a commitment to meeting the financial, environmental, social, and academic needs of diverse learners.
  5. Collaboration develops educational, technical, industrial, and cultural partnerships to improve the quality of life in the community.
  6. Stewardship, Sustainability, and Accountability require an efficient and effective use of human, physical, and financial resources.

Equal Educational Opportunity

McLennan Community College provides equal educational opportunity for all qualified students and does not discriminate on the basis of gender, disability, race, creed or religion, color, age, national origin or any other unlawful factors in its educational programs, activities or employment as required by Title VI and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Title IX of the Educational Amendments Act of 1972, and the Age Discrimination Act of 1978.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Equal employment opportunity shall be provided all applicants for employment and employees, without regard to their race, color, creed or religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, or other factors which cannot be the lawful basis for a personnel decision.

Non-Discrimination Statement

McLennan Community College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability or age in its programs or activities. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policies: Drew Canham, Vice President of Student Success, 1400 College Drive, 254-299-8645, titleix@mclennan.edu.

McLennan Community College no discrimina a ninguna persona independientemente de la raza, color, origen nacional o étnico, género, discapacidad, o edad en sus programas, actividades o empleo. Para obtener información sobre el cumplimiento de esta política de no discriminación por parte de la institución, comuníquese con el siguiente administrador: Drew Canham, vicepresidente Éxito Estudiantil, 1400 College Drive, 254-299-8645, titleix@mclennan.edu

Title IX Statement

We care about campus safety, and value an environment where students and instructors can successfully teach and learn together. If you or someone you know experiences unwelcomed behavior, we are here to help. Individuals who would like to report an incident of sexual misconduct should do so by immediately contacting the Title IX Coordinator at titleix@mclennan.edu or by calling Dr. Drew Canham (Vice President for Student Success) at 254-299-8645. Individuals also may contact the MCC Police Department at 254-299-8911 or the MCC Student Counseling Center at MCC by calling 254-299-8210. The MCC Student Counseling Center is a confidential resource for students.

McLennan's Title IX webpage (http://www.mclennan.edu/titleix) contains more information about definitions, reporting, confidentiality, resources, and what to do if you or someone you know is a victim of sexual misconduct, gender-based violence or the crimes of rape, acquaintance rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment, stalking, dating violence or domestic violence.

Accreditation and Recognition

McLennan Community College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award the Associate of Arts, Associate of Science, Associate of Applied Sciences, and Associate of Arts in Teaching degrees. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033 or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of McLennan Community College.

Recognition has been given to McLennan Community College by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. The College is approved for the training of veterans and foreign students.

Disclaimers

This catalog was prepared based on the best information available at the time of creation; however, all information is subject to change without notice or obligation. This catalog is for informational purposes and does not constitute a contract.

The College often photographs and videos its students and employees for use in McLennan Community College publications, public relations efforts, marketing materials, and online media. Anyone who does not want his or her photograph/image used for these purposes should file a written request with the Marketing & Communications Office (ADM 410, 254-299-8640).

Academic Pathways

McLennan Community College embarked on a major redesign of its student support and academic programs in 2017 in support of student success. The concern we were facing was the number of students either completing a 2-year degree in 4 to 6 years or dropping out of college. Moreover, we were finding students were completing 90+ credit hours without a degree or certificate. Moreover, as they try to sort through their options, they take courses that will not suit them and lose ground both in time to graduation and in escalating college costs.

In our review of the data we found we have traditionally offered too many degree and/or certificate options that they must decide on during their first time on campus, a confusing and difficult task for any student. The academic pathway is meant to tackle all of these challenges, cutting back on options students face at the beginning of their academic journey, working with them along the way through advising, academic support structures, and mentoring to help them explore options and make career choices that best meet their abilities without losing time to graduation.

What are academic pathways?

An academic pathway model is an integrated, system-wide approach to student success that builds a clear, educationally coherent program map of coursework and contextualized support structures for students within six major career/professional concentrations in which the student can explore degree options yet remain on track to graduate within the minimum required time. The pathways also serve as a way to narrow student choices at the start of their academic journey at the college while they learn about different disciplines and career options, then broaden opportunities as students become better informed. Pathways are also tied to industry credentials or transfer agreements with four-year institutions. This ensures a student knows from the start of their academic through MCC that their degree and/or certificate will seamless transition into the workplace or transfer to the students’ four-year institution of choice.

The six pathways at MCC are:

  1. Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) (Biology, Chemistry, Geology, Astronomy, Physics, Computer Science, Math, Statistics, Engineering, Agriculture and Pre-professional programs)
  2. Business (Accounting, Marketing, Management, Real Estate, Entrepreneurship, Computer Information Systems, Office Administration, Health Information Technology, Hospitality)
  3. Creative Arts (Music, Theatre, Music Industry Careers, and Art)
  4. Liberal Arts (History, Government, Anthropology, Sociology, Psychology, Philosophy, English, and Languages)
  5. Public Service (Law Enforcement, Criminal Justice, Education, Public Administration, Pre-law, Mental health, Social Work, Human Services, Fire, EMT/Paramedicine, and Cosmetology)
  6. Health Professions (Nursing, Radiological Technology, Respiratory Technology, Occupational Therapy Assistant, Physical Therapy Assistant, Medical Lab Technology, Certified Medical Assistant, Certified Nursing Assistant)

MCC has also worked to integrate the pathway model into our high school programs such as dual credit, early college high school and early admission. The pathway model ties directly into the five endorsements implemented in public high schools since 2016. By advising all of the high school students into a pathway, we ensure that every one of the courses they take with us transfers into a degree or certificate program.

What does pathways mean for students?

The academic pathways simplify entering student degree and certificate choices until they are better able to decide what best suits their abilities and interests. In this process, it allows students to explore various areas while not losing pace in their progress to graduation. Each pathway will have curriculum and support structures oriented to meeting the needs of students as the progress through their academic journey. This will also include intrusive advising and career counseling along pathways. It will also help build learning communities/cohorts of students with similar interests.

Why are pathways important?

Academic pathways serve both the student and the college in being more successful by:

  • helping students not be overwhelmed when considering college and the decisions they must make when enrolling;
  • helping students make better informed decisions on career/professional goals with the support of faculty and advisors without losing time or coursework;
  • helping students stay on path towards completing their degrees or certificates;
  • ensuring students are learning;
  • building closer ties among high school, college and 4-year IHE degrees;
  • managing course scheduling and student demand more effectively; and ultimately
  • improving student persistence, retention and graduation rates.
An example of a Pathway:

STEM pathway would include degrees and certificates covering the disciplines of Science, Math, Engineering, Agriculture and Technology (Computer Science). Students who are interested in any of these areas but do not have a specific degree in mind would join the pathway on a multidisciplinary Associate of Science degree. The first two semesters would be set for the student to help them learn about careers and professions available through this pathway, providing them an opportunity to try different areas while working closely with them through intrusive advising by student development and mentoring by faculty. All students entering this pathway will be required to work towards completing their Math skills through Calculus and must sign up for majors-STEM courses. This will ensure the student continues moving forward with their coursework, explore options yet not lose coursework during the process. Once students better focus their interests, they will be advised into STEM metamajors with specific selection and sequencing of courses leading to their preparation in a specific discipline or area of study. All pathways curricula will be aligned with transfer degree options with partner 4-year institutions and/or with local industry.

For more information: http://www.mclennan.edu/pathways/

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