Middlesex Community College: Middlesex Community College Reflects On One Year In Pandemic

Press release from the Middlesex Community College:

Caitlin Buckley

3/17/2021

As Middlesex Community College looked forward to celebrating its 50th anniversary in September 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic changed everything. In the middle of the Spring 2020 semester, Middlesex had to transition all courses, student services and work to remote, virtual and limited contact systems. One year later, MCC has proven itself as an institution that innovates and perseveres, remaining steadfast in promoting its mission and focus on student success.

“Recognizing the plight of our students has meant that we’ve had to make many adjustments at the college,” said Dr. James C. Mabry, MCC’s President. “Everything in our work life was upended, our mission didn’t change. We are here to be accessible, to be equitable and to help our students be successful in their educational goals.”

Serving a diverse population of students, Middlesex understands the importance of helping students navigate these new challenges beyond their academics. From the start, the college put together a list of resources and services for students, including tips on staying mentally and financially healthy, and information on maintaining stable housing from MCC’s Law Center.

For students who did not have access to laptops, MCC loaned out Chromebooks and cameras, and installed wifi hotspots in the campus parking lots. To help keep the college’s food pantries stocked, MCC received a $20,000 grant to provide 3,000 free and pre-packaged meals for 200 students throughout the year, as well as over 400 grocery gift cards totaling more than $16,000.

“The college has been working very stridently on the equity agenda and we wanted to leave none of our students behind during this pandemic,” said Philip Sisson, MCC’s Provost & Vice President of Student and Academic Affairs. “We were concerned about our students’ mental health and were sensitive to the fact that a lot of our students were significantly impacted by the pandemic. We were fortunate to be able to have a team that worked to address every service that the college offers to make sure that service was completely available to them.”

As part of the Federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, MCC received $2 million in grants that was given out to nearly 5,000 students. Despite funding and relief packages, many students had unmet financial needs that prevented them from paying off bills, or made them choose between buying groceries or taking classes. MCC’s Advancement Office raised $69,000 as part of an Emergency Appeal to help these students affected by COVID-19. Despite being unable to meet in person, the MCC Foundation also recognized scholarship recipients and donors during a virtual ceremony in Fall 2020, awarding 73 scholarships totaling $94,000 to 64 students.

During the transition, MCC’s 21-year history of award-winning online learning provided a strong foundation to build upon. With 900 courses in March 2020 shifting to online, the percentage of online classes went from 20 percent to 90 percent in one week. To meet these demands, the college’s IT department distributed 200+ laptops to faculty while MCC’s two instructional designers created training modules and support systems to help redesign curriculums. They also developed a faculty mentor program for those who had not taught online before.

Middlesex offered three course options from Spring 2020 to Spring 2021 – online with class meeting times, online with no class meeting times, and a hybrid of online and on-campus lab work. Although students missed being on campus and interacting with classmates and professors, many enjoyed the flexibility of online classes. Over the past year, Middlesex found many students excelled in a combination of both online and face-to-face courses, so the college offered options that blended the best aspects of both.

Many of MCC’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and healthcare students go on to perform important work in labs and hospitals across the state. Following health and safety guidelines, Middlesex was able to allow these students opportunities to finish necessary in-person lab and clinical work. This gave students a comprehensive learning experience, preparing them for the workforce and keeping them on track to graduate on time.

MCC’s phasing taskforce used what they learned from this experience to open the campuses up to students picking up modeling clay, meal prep kits and musical instruments – materials needed for their various classes. The Theatre department was able to put on three socially distanced shows, including “She Kills Monsters: Virtual Realms” over Zoom – using individual cubicles to separate performers and green screens for special effects.

By continuing to provide services and make themselves available to students, Middlesex helped to maintain a sense of community as the college welcomed new students and helped current students through the challenging year. MCC’s Libraries worked on updating digital and physical collections, made themselves available for online reference help, and offered curbside services such as printing and picking up books. While the Office of Admissions hosted virtual Open Houses and helped students through the online application process, Advising held Zoom sessions for students to drop-in and ask questions – among other services for both departments.

Staff took advantage of the technology that was already in place to develop programs – such as Study Buddies and a Learning Online Bootcamp – that allowed students to interact with one another and feel more prepared in their courses. From the award-winning Blackboard Ambassador program that has students assist professors in online classes, to eTutoring and online Supplemental Instruction from the Academic Centers for Enrichment (ACE), MCC students had a range of options to help them be more successful in their courses and collaborate with classmates.

Everyone at the college understood the importance of hosting events for the community to feel socially engaged. Over 200 virtual student events were held throughout the year, including the “A World of Music” concert series, an art show hosted by the Art department, and STEM Week and Black History Month events. To help against the feeling of loneliness, places on campus such as the Multicultural Center and Asian American Connections Center also hosted online events in addition to study sessions and workshops on financial aid and mental health.

“Middlesex, what I think they do very well is creating a sense of community and really making students feel like they aren’t going through the college experience by themselves,” said Malayah Montgomery, MCC History and Global Studies Major. “There are faculty members, staff members, who care about your experience and really want to help you. There’s always someone there to help and that sense of community has not only helped me, but everybody that I’ve been in contact with at Middlesex.”
Students also benefitted from MCC’s noncredit options in the Corporate and Community Education and Training department by taking courses in personal enrichment and professional development. While some classes ran fully online, others were held in-person taking necessary precautions. Students ranging from kids in MCC’s College for Kids program to senior adults in the Middlesex Institute for Lifelong Education for Seniors (MILES) – had the opportunity to stay busy and engaged, get back into the workforce, or gain valuable knowledge and skills.

Through credit and noncredit programs – and the college’s Alumni Association – MCC is prepared to get job seekers back into the workforce and help industries recover from the challenges the pandemic presents. Whether assisting the Chamber of Commerce with trainings over Zoom, participating in outreach events, or providing virtual alumni networking opportunities, Middlesex has continued to be a fixture in the communities of Bedford and Lowell.

As more COVID-19 testing sites became available and the vaccine rollout began, Middlesex saw an opportunity to further help the community. Both students and faculty in the Nursing department started performing swab tests on community members on the Bedford campus and have been administering vaccinations at Lowell General Hospital. Because some clinical sites shut down due to the pandemic, these experiences have provided crucial and historic learning opportunities for MCC students.

One year into the pandemic, MCC put together a three-part commemorative video entitled “An Anniversary Like No Other” to show how MCC students, faculty, staff and administrators processed, adapted and responded to unprecedented and challenging times. Because of this flexibility and persistence, the college is able to look towards a post-COVID world – and its next 50 years – using the skills, tools and lessons they have learned from these experiences.

The first chapter “An Unexpected Challenge” was released on Wednesday, March 17. The next two chapters “A Collaborative Solution” and “A Stronger Future” will be released throughout March. Visit https://youtu.be/A8h1FHb6bFA to watch and subscribe to the channel.

Visit www.middlesex.mass.edu/registration/ or call 1-800-818-3434 to learn more about what Middlesex offers, including courses for the Summer and Fall 2021 semesters.

Discover your path at Middlesex Community College. As one of the largest, most comprehensive community colleges in Massachusetts, MCC has been a proven leader in online education for more than 20 years. We educate, engage and empower a diverse community of learners, offering more than 80 degree and certificate programs – plus hundreds of noncredit courses. Middlesex Community College: Student success starts here!

This press release was produced by the Middlesex Community College. The views expressed here are the author’s own.