Montgomery County Community College is a place where the future is created. It is a place where desire and knowledge are combined to yield opportunity. The College is a reflection and a response to the needs and aspirations of those who live, work, and conduct business in Montgomery County and beyond. Grounded in a set of values that teach us to encourage, listen, respect, and treat fairly those whom we serve, those with whom we work, and those who work with us in service, the College strives to ensure that all residents of Montgomery County have access to the highest quality and most affordable higher education possible. Most importantly, the College is dedicated to fostering the growth and success of all we serve.
The College believes that learning is a lifelong activity requiring constant adaptation of programs, courses, and learning support services to reflect social, technological, and workforce changes and to ensure that all learners reach their unique goals. Believing in the right of everyone to have access to a quality education, to workforce training, to opportunities for personal and professional growth, and to culture and recreation, the College translates the values of its community and reaches out to it, inviting involvement, offering learning, and fostering understanding.
As part of its role in the greater community, the College serves these vital functions.
- It provides quality associate degree, certificate, and continuing education programs that lead to transfer, employment, and/or personal enrichment.
- It extends the reach of its programs and services, and thus educational opportunity, to meet the learning needs of those who cannot readily access collegiate educational opportunities because of academic, physical, economic, cultural, or geographic boundaries.
- It links with leaders of the region’s businesses and industries to assist in developing a vital, current, and educated workforce.
- It serves as a cultural and recreational destination, presenting opportunities for area residents to attend activities that feature stimulating and popular entertainment and ideas.
- Acting as a significant element in a larger regional learning community, the College works with K-12 and university teachers, leaders, and learners to ensure a seamless and successful transition from high school, to the associate degree, to the baccalaureate degree, and beyond.
Through its role as one institution with one set of shared values and principles, yet with multiple physical and virtual points of access, the College continuously works to define itself.
Evaluation of Mission Achievement
The College views education as a dynamic process that brings to the community a diverse, constantly changing set of learning opportunities; opportunities that grow, change, transform and multiply as the community and our learners confront and react to ever present change. Thus, to fully meet our mission, the College participates in on-going self-assessment and review in order to enhance and improve instructional programs and services to students and the county we serve.
Goals
The six strategic issues, which are the foundation for our strategic plan to 2010, emerged from our College community through a number of efforts and conversations during the 2005-2006 academic year including an evaluation of progress made toward accomplishing the goals within the strategic plan to 2005, the Middle States Self-Study process, 15 listening Sessions involving more than 300 participants and the hosting of a College blog and its 459 postings reflecting input from 125 participants.
- Expand Access and Increase Student Success. Extend our reach by reducing barriers to enrollment and increase the ability of all students to reach their learning goals.
- Ensure a Quality, Relevant, Coherent and Innovative Curriculum. Sharpen our focus on academic quality, program relevancy, curriculum coherence, and innovation in pedagogy and commit to strong assessment of student learning outcomes at the course, program, and institutional levels to drive program development and delivery.
- Build a Model and Modern Workplace. Offer employees the tools, professional development opportunities, and organizational climate to support employee excellence and satisfaction in recognition that student success depends on our employees having a supportive work environment.
- Invest in Campus Renewal and Sustainability. Continue investing in our facilities to assure a welcoming and sustainable learning environment with a strong technology infrastructure.
- Extend Community and Strategic Partnerships. Build partnerships with the K-12 sector, colleges, and universities, the arts and creative community, community-based organizations, business and industry and government agencies to meet the lifelong learning needs of our community.
- Become an Entrepreneurial College. Create a flexible, responsive, and innovative organization that finds new means to support student success, build academic quality, support the entrepreneurial capacity of our students and community, and complement our public financial support of our College.
