MCC Adds Nursing Courses to Commonwealth Honors Program

Middlesex Community College is adding Nursing courses to the college’s Commonwealth Honors Program. MCC’s Honors Program started a decade ago under the recently retired first director of the program and history professor Dr. David Kalivas. The program provides advanced-level course options and seminar-style classes for students who have at least a 3.2 GPA upon applying to the program.

Binnur Ercem is MCC’s new Director of the Commonwealth Honors Program and a Professor of Sociology and Cultural Anthropology. She has worked with the faculty of the Nursing Program to designate Nursing Care of the Adult I and II, as well as Ethics and Society to be seminars eligible for honors credit for the nursing students who qualify.

“I am excited to announce that MCC’s Nursing Program and Commonwealth Honors Program have partnered to add honors courses for nursing students,” Ercem said. “This unique and creative new partnership is the first of its kind and will provide an opportunity to nursing students to take honors level nursing classes and graduate as honors scholars.”

According to Dr. Sandra Shapiro, MCC’s Director of Nurse Education, MCC’s Commonwealth Honors Program and Nursing Program are a natural partnership because both programs have values of “integrity, honesty, perseverance, academic achievement, independence, intellectual curiosity, self-reliance and a collaborative spirit.”

“The benefits for nursing students to become honors scholars are many, but belonging to an intellectual community may be one of the most important advantages for nursing students, who, by their nature, are inherently inquisitive,” Dr. Shapiro said. “As members of the Honors Program, they will now be recognized for their intellect and curiosity. Additionally, nursing students will be able to network and grow from their association within the honors scholars’ community.”

The Commonwealth Honors Program offers Middlesex students an increased opportunity for scholarships, guaranteed transfer to any Commonwealth Honors Program or Honors College in Massachusetts, and an enhanced prospect for acceptance to private four-year colleges and universities. Students who participate also gain leadership, research and networking skills.

Visit www.middlesex.mass.edu/honors/ for more information on MCC’s Commonwealth Honors Program or contact the department at honors@middlesex.mass.edu or 781-280-3553.

Middlesex offers both full-time day and part-time evening/weekend options to prepare nurses to earn an Associate in Science, as well as eligibility to take the NCLEX. For more information on MCC’s Nursing Program, visit www.middlesex.mss.edu/nursing/ or contact Jennifer Migliozzi, MCC’s Assistant Director of Admissions, at migliozzij@middlesex.mass.edu.

The Fall 2020 semester starts on September 9 and will feature expanded online options. To register, visit www.middlesex.mass.edu/registration/ or call 1-800-818-3434.

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