Dear MCC Community,
Our faculty and staff at Miles Community College did a tremendous job responding to the initial onset of COVID-19 by coming together to meet our students’ needs. Our response was measured, timely, and also valued the long tradition of our quality education. While I could not be prouder of the work we did, we must now turn to the future.
I want to be the first to inform you that MCC will resume On-Campus Face-to-Face Classes This Fall. Everyone is excited to welcome our Students, Faculty, and Staff back on campus. We have always prided ourselves on our nimbleness and our small class size. We move forward with three main priorities:
We know that some things will change. We will promote safety protocols such as social distancing in our classrooms, labs, residence halls, and athletic facilities and be extremely visible with our cleaning regimens. The campus will continue to reduce the density of groups throughout our programs. We will emphasize something that has always been important on campus--safety.
MCC will continue recognizing the varied needs of faculty, staff, and students. Whether we recommend the use of protective masks, testing, or other tools, we know that our community will come together and value one another as we always have. This may mean blended classes, altered schedules, or other teaching priorities. Along with many other institutions throughout the area and after careful consideration, we’ve already made some modifications to our fall academic calendar, making adjustments in a way that honors the priorities outlined above. Our start date will remain the same – September 9 – but we will finish the final few weeks of the semester, after the Thanksgiving holiday break, virtually, for most academic programs.
By understanding the needs our faculty and students have to access classrooms, the library, and other physical spaces to fully engage in learning and instruction, we look forward to opening in the fall with face-to-face instruction, but still honor the role that digital and virtual learning play in our educational system.
There is a value of enrolling at MCC. We know our students who complete their programs earn higher wages than those students who don’t attend college. We understand the need of the college to serve an important role in our community. Our small class sizes and access to our quality faculty are second to none. In fact, we encourage those not enrolled to take a look at MCC. You can stay close to home and know that we are looking out for you and your academic success.
There will be many questions regarding logistics of the processes of the campus and we will address them in a responsible way. We encourage you to reach out to our student services team by calling (406)874-6100 and learn more about MCC. Should you have any questions regarding our ongoing plans regarding COVID-19, click on the COVID-19 Response and Impact Link. We look forward to seeing you on-campus in the Fall.
Go Pioneers!!!
Ron Slinger, President
Miles Community College
President@milescc.edu
Miles Community College continues to monitor updates regarding the 2019 Novel Coronavirus and works closely with an intercampus preparedness team of the Montana University System to communicate information to the MCC Community. Please utilize this site for a list of all communications. Additionally, you can gain up-to-date information through the Center for Disease Control and Prevention at www.cdc.gov/coronavirus .
For questions at the campus, please contact Richard DeShields, Dean of Student Engagement, at DeShieldsR@milescc.edu
