MCCC Partners with Google to Create Virtual Mac Lab for Photo and Graphic Design Students
4/30/20
West Windsor, N.J. – In conjunction with Mercer County Community College’s (MCCC) strategic plan, the college’s IT Department worked with Google to create a virtual Mac lab for photography and graphic design students.
The collaboration works to rectify problems of access by implementing a virtual computer lab that students can access remotely from their home internet connection.
The lab speaks to the college’s commitment to expanding innovative partnerships. MCCC President Dr. Jianping Wang established the strategic plan with the help of the President’s Leadership Team (PLT) in 2016.
According to Tonia Harrison, Manager of User Services, the labs can take up to two hours to set up.
“Our team received the request from Professor Michael Dalton to allow student to access Graphics Mac lab from home and we got right to work,” Harrison said.
Using Google’s remote desktop, students can access the computers and their programs as if they were sitting on campus in the ES Building.
In addition to the virtual Mac Lab, the college is working with a number of companies to ensure internship and employment opportunities for its students. Among them are Domain Computer Systems, Haldeman Auto Group, and Piedmont Airlines.
The college is regularly on the cutting edge of technology. In 2017, Mercer became the first college in the nation to launch a new cloud-based software delivery system, Colleague SaaS (Software-as-a-Service), in cooperation with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Ellucian, a nationwide leader in higher education technology services.
“Our decision to implement the virtual Mac lab is consistent with our top strategic goal – to ensure student success,” Wang said.
Are you ready to help us keep our students on track to finish classes and graduate? Then share and support our MCCC Student Emergency Fund. Donating at www.mccc.edu/mercermatters, or by texting MercerMatters to 41444, will help keep students enrolled during the COVID-19 pandemic. Every dollar matters!
MCCC has implemented a virtual Mac laboratory to give students remote access to graphic design software.