MCCC Mission and Goals

Mercer County Community College is a comprehensive, publicly supported two-year institution focused on learning and student success. The college welcomes students of all ages from a wide variety of backgrounds, abilities, interests, levels of education, and economic circumstances to a challenging and supportive environment dedicated to meeting the educational needs of 21st century global citizens and lifelong learners. Mercer responds to a broad array of community needs, offering programs and services for employers, continuing education and training for the workforce, enrichment for youth, and cultural opportunities for people in the region.

The following goals guide the college's quest to fulfill its mission:

1.  To Ensure Student Success:

• Implement the comprehensive Guided Pathways to Success model* so that students can readily follow the quickest route to completion (*GPS: Mapping Pathways to Student End Goals, Helping Students Enter a Pathway, Keeping Students on the Path, Ensuring that Students are Learning)
• Develop a systematic method for assessing and updating student intentions
• Increase the number of academic programs at the James Kerney Campus
• Increase success rates for low-income students and students of color
• Address the multiple needs of a diverse student body by meeting all students where they are and getting them to where they want to go (e.g., alternative class times, delivery modes, pedagogical models)
• Expand developmental education options to accelerate student transition to, and success in, college-level courses
• Redesign student intake process including advising to be proactive and remotely accessible
• Create actionable data, especially student cohort data, that shows where MCCC’s entering students are succeeding and where they are not
• Maximize technology and social media to improve marketing, outreach, and the student experience
• Provide comprehensive evening and weekend college experiences

2.  To Expand Innovative Partnerships:

• Expand partnerships with Community Based Organizations (CBOs) to serve students with low-level college-readiness and high-need for financial assistance
• Expand dual/concurrent enrollment rates at MCCC
• Increase dual/concurrent enrollment rates specifically at the James Kerney Campus
• Expand the successful college readiness programs for students entering MCCC from county secondary schools
• Expand and improve partnerships with four-year colleges and universities
• Expand the University Center at MCCC and improve the visibility of the Center
• Create and support internships, experiential learning, global education and internationalization, and career planning opportunities for students.
• Strengthen workforce development programs through partnerships with the business community and a comprehensive analysis of workforce needs
• Increase engagement with MCCC’s alumni
• Enlist alumni and other retired professionals as volunteer mentors for our students
• Strengthen and expand partnerships with international academic institutions, foreign colleges and universities, and provider organizations

3.  To Invest in Organizational and Professional Effectiveness:

• Develop a systematic plan for increasing professional capacity of staff, faculty, and administrators
• Use data and needs assessment analysis to plan and fund specific professional development activities
• Incorporate specific details about student learning and support needs in professional development activities
• Provide specific and concrete steps to improve student learning needs and the student learning experience
• Enhance resources available for the Center for Teaching and Learning based on initiatives with measureable student achievement goals
• Review the college’s hiring and promotion policies to strengthen the requirement for professional development that directly links to student success
• Increase investment in technology that supports organizational effectiveness (e.g., communication apps, and Blackboard and Colleague modules related to student success)
• Evaluate the organizational structure on a regular basis to optimize institutional efficiency, integration, and effectiveness
• Implement Human Resource development software
• Develop a Competitor Analysis that shows the number and types of two-year and certificate programs available in a 25-mile radius of MCCC
• Increase college branding and targeted marketing to various student groups
• Improve employee engagement