MCC Programs Designed to Help Students Reach Goals

Middlesex Community College helps students reach their goals with affordable prices, flexible schedules and multiple course format options. As a leader of online education for over 20 years, Middlesex offers interactive and immersive courses designed to run online. As the program transitions to online courses, the goal of MCC’s Graphic Design department to guide students to success remains the same.

Courses in MCC’s Graphic Design program will meet live online in the Fall 2020 semester in a synchronous online format. According to Joe Eiler, MCC’s Graphic Design Professor & Program Coordinator, the program prepares students for three options. All include building a portfolio that students showcase to start a business, apply for a job or transfer to a four-year school.

“The Spring semester gave us a great leg up to figure out how to bring our courses into an online version and still maintain the high standards this program requires,” Eiler said. “Our instructors are spending their summer trying to increase their ability to teach online in a meaningful and exciting way. Our main goal is for all of our students who graduate to come out with a very strong portfolio that is geared towards their individuality, not any formal cookie cutter form.”

The market for graphic design jobs is strong and students can go into a number of different industries that interest them, Eiler said. To help students figure out their work styles and interests, MCC’s program has an internship component. Students find their own internships, some of which are remote and others in-person while following safety guidelines at this time. Many students receive job offers at their internship site after they graduate.

In order to stay relevant in the field and to ensure MCC graduates are both hirable and prepared to transfer, Eiler and the department keep the content up-to-date with the latest trends in the industry, as well as with the knowledge and skills employers and other colleges are seeking.

“We firmly believe in new projects and outcomes so that we stay fresh and the students stay fresh,” he said. “We try to change things up so we are constantly adding digital components or new approaches and projects so everybody stays at a new level of creativity that is cutting edge.”

Students present their portfolios in a review to current professionals and alumni. In these presentations, students gain experience talking about their work, networking, and receiving feedback from people who are active in the field.

Heather Shaw, Professor & Department Chair of Design at Lesley University, looks forward to MCC’s portfolio reviews each year.

“Participating in their juries enables me to see the skills they are learning and the creativity applied to their final projects and crafts,” she said. “The long-term benefits of this relationship have led to an established cohort of MCC graduates continuing their Design education at Lesley – fostering a continuum of community amongst students.”

Shaw believes it is important for MCC students to make a connection to someone like herself – who works at a four-year school and in the industry – at these reviews, so students can better understand their options once they graduate from Middlesex.

Students who start at MCC gain experience in the field, learn how to plan for what comes next, and connect with a department of faculty and classmates who stay connected and help each other succeed.

Gabrielle Menard graduated from MCC in Spring 2020. From Montreal, Menard wanted an academic experience that benefitted both her professional and personal life. MCC stood out and she calls her experience at Middlesex “beyond amazing.”

It is the interactive team approach to education that has made a difference for her. In addition to collaborating with her fellow students, she worked as a tutor at the college.

“It’s very satisfying to see passionate students who are willing to step outside of their comfort zone in order to improve their graphic design skills,” she said. “We also share ideas and do small critiques during classes and lab hours, so it really helps when they’re being challenged with their design skills.”

Menard also enjoyed going on a department field trip to local businesses. The experience provided time to bond with students and faculty in the department, while exposing them to real-world work environments.

The “family” feel in the Graphic Design program also left a mark on MCC alumna Courtney Patti who graduated in 2013. She chose Middlesex to pursue her passion for design because it was affordable and offered small class sizes. Eiler in particular – along with her classmates – made the department a safe space to explore her creativity.

“The department taught me valuable lessons and I got the one-on-one teaching experience I needed as an individual,” she said. “I didn’t want to just be a number, I wanted to be a person. They saw me as an individual with unique talents and helped me harness it for practical uses in the real world.”

Patti now works full-time as a Graphic Designer at Spectrum Marketing Companies in New Hampshire. Having the opportunity to present her portfolio at the reviews prepared her for the “terrifying” interview process and increased her confidence.

For Patti, Graphic Design remains exciting because “it’s fun and always changing and adapting.”

Alum Justin Johnson – who graduated from the program in 2011 – agrees, believing that although digital media may change, “the need for creatives has never faltered.”

Johnson calls his MCC experience “fantastic” and one of the “smartest and best decisions” he made for his future. Now a Senior Graphic Designer at Veracode, Johnson credits professors such as Eiler and Jeanne Cronin, for their dedication to student success.

“Joe and team gave honest feedback on the work environments we would encounter, provided help and nurturing when needed,” he said. “One thing that I have taken away from the Design program is that ‘you get what you put into it.’ This was told to me during my time in the program and it has never not been true.”

Coming to MCC helped Johnson save money to pursue his dream job.

“I would 100 percent recommend it,” he said. “MCC gives people a chance to enhance their life goals while not being strapped down to 30K+ worth of debt.”

MCC’s Graphic Design program offers an associate degree and certificate option. This fall, the college is running over 30 Art and Graphic Design online courses. MCC offers personalized financial aid counseling, payment plans, flexible course formats and a supportive community to help keep students on track with their goals.

Visit https://www.middlesex.mass.edu/art/ for more information on MCC’s Art and Graphic Design programs, or contact Margaret Rack, MCC’s Art Department Chair at 781-280-3803 or rackm@middlesex.mass.edu.

MCC is offering incentives to help students continue their education. One incentive offers 50 percent off a first class to students who were laid-off due to COVID-19. The college is also offering 50 percent off one course to new students in celebration of the college’s 50th anniversary. Qualifying students must register by September 10.

Visit www.middlesex.mass.edu/save for participation rules.

To learn more about the classes and opportunities MCC offers – and to register for Fall classes – visit www.middlesex.mass.edu/registration/ or call 1-800-818-3434.

If you have ever taken a class at MCC, you are an alum! To share your story – contact Amy Lee, Director of Annual Giving and Alumni Relations, at 978-656-3028 or leea@middlesex.mass.edu. Visit www.middlesex.mass.edu/alumni/ for more information and to join the Alumni Association.

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!