Middlesex Community College: MCC's Adult Learning Center Helps Students Find Their Path

Press release from the Middlesex Community College:

Caitlin Buckley

7/14/2021

Middlesex Community College helps students of all ages earn their degrees, start new careers and increase their knowledge. At the Adult Learning Center (ALC) at Middlesex, adult learners 16 years or older who live and work in Massachusetts can take free classes to improve their academic skills or prepare for a high school equivalency exam, college, job training or employment.

Sponsored by a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the ALC has been helping students since 1995. At all times, the center supports 85 or more adult learners – with 25 to 35 different countries of origin represented – who bring with them a wide variety of backgrounds, skills and goals.

“We try our best to figure out what students need academically, what’s going to help them get to that next step,” said Alison Norton, MCC’s Program Coordinator for the ALC. “We provide advising support to counsel them in the right direction so they have access to everything they need as far as registering for a high school equivalency test, introducing them to MCC’s resources, connecting them with different MassHire centers, and educating them on training and academic requirements.”

MCC’s ALC is dedicated to helping students get familiar with what college is and how it works. In the free classes, students improve their reading, writing and math skills for a well-rounded academic program. To help them be more competitive in the job market, students are prepared to take the HiSET or GED, polish their English skills and boost their knowledge.

Flore Valcin – who lives in Melrose – came to the United States from Haiti with the goal of earning her GED. Upon recommendation from a friend, she started at the Middlesex ALC where she prepared for and then passed her exam. For Valcin, the best part of the program was her instructors who “are excellent, prepare you well and are very kind and patient with students.”

Calling her experience “a dream come true,” Valcin went on to attend MCC’s Links program – a tuition-free program designed to provide extra support for students starting college¬. She is now studying biotechnology at Middlesex and has been accepted into the college’s Biotechnology Learn & Earn Experience where she has the opportunity to work at a partner company as she finishes her associate degree.

“I am so grateful for the opportunity, help and support from MCC staff over the years,” Valcin said. “I never knew that one day I would be in college. While I was taking classes at MCC, I had been introduced to biotech which now I have fallen in love with. I was blessed by all the people around me to show me the way.”

In 2018, the ALC was granted additional funding from the Mass. Department of Education to open an evening program in Waltham. When COVID-19 struck, the program saw an increased demand for evening classes and transitioned to online formats as students had changes in their schedules at work or had to care for children at home.

For the Fall 2021 semester, classes will be offered online and include live, interactive sessions taught by instructors. In order to participate in the online classes, students will need access to a computer with a speaker, microphone and camera; reliable access to the internet; be able to attend and participate in the live class sessions; and complete assignments outside of class.

Students are admitted to MCC’s ALC throughout the school year on a space-available basis. The next registration period begins Monday, August 2 with classes starting on Tuesday, September 7. For daytime classes, students will meet from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Evening classes will meet from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays.

Visit www.middlesex.mass.edu/adultlearning for more information about MCC’s Adult Learning Center. To register and sign up for placement testing, contact ALC@middlesex.mass.edu or call 781-280-3662.

Featuring flexible course formats and a variety of student support services and resources, MCC is registering now for the Fall 2021 semester. Visit www.middlesex.mass.edu or call 1-800-818-3434 to register for classes.

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.