Low student participation causes problems for MCC
Keith Whittemore
Mesa Legend
It’s no secret that MCC has a problem with school spirit. For years, the school has been plagued with low student participation, whether in clubs, events, or even just hanging out on campus. “When you think about community college, you don’t think about student life,” said ASMCC president Aron Mixson. “MCC has definitely had its time trying to foster enough spirit here for students to maintain that way of life.” A lackluster student culture doesn’t simply mean less fun, however – it can have serious effects on the school and its wider community.
“Retention rates take a hit, enrollment rates take a hit. That comes as no surprise. When students are looking for new avenues to pique their interests, they’re not inclined to try things they didn’t know about,” Mixson said.At the same time, however, the converse is true. “The statistical data show that, the more involved you are on this campus, the quicker you’ll graduate,” Mixson said. “It’s a statistical fact that if you’re here on campus, you have nothing else to do but do your homework, and you have people you’re accountable to.”
One of the biggest problems in getting students involved, according to Beth Ann Wright, a program adviser with Student Life and Leadership, is the fact that MCC is a commuter school, with students traveling from all across the Valley to attend. The fact that students have to travel to and from campus, combined with the school-work-life balance many students struggle with, makes for low participation levels. “I run into students a lot of times who are trying to support themselves, and so going to work and school and doing all of those things can create issues,” Wright said. “It’s about planning events around when we know students are here,” she said.
Another major issue is awareness. “I think it’s just not knowing that these events exist as well. Finding better ways to advertise about the games or all of that would help,” Wright said. Part of the solution to that, Mixson said, is the use of social media. “Every time we do anything out of ASMCC, we try to make sure we have some sort of social media aspect to it,” he said. Wright agreed. “We know that social media is a big way to connect with our students, so we like to do so,” she said.
Both Mixson and Wright also identified the new student lounge as a huge boon to their task. “It’s a great congregation place for all students to come to… Because students go back and forth between there and the new enrollment center, you have no other choice but to be engaged with all the tables in there,” Mixson said. “Anytime I walk in there, there are students in there,” Wright said. “For me, it’s fun to walk through and see that, and for other students, it’s cool to see that there’s more to college with the things they’re doing.”
Another key to expanding student culture, Wright and Mixson said, is the streamlining of the registration process for clubs. “Our team has been burning the candle since summer trying to make sure we have a streamlined way of approving clubs as soon as possible,” Mixson said. “We’ve worked very diligently trying to create a new process that fulfills everything we need to make an active club become beneficial to the campus, while also allowing them to do that in a timely fashion.” “The typical club now takes only about a week to be approved,” he added.
As to what else can be done, Mixson identified the need for experimentation and openness to possibilities. “More bustling activities would help, more meeting students’ needs and interests. In the past we’ve done a lot of surveys — why would a student want to come here, why would they stay after classes?” Mixson said. Wright agreed, adding that getting students involved in social issues could provide an anchor for student engagement.
“I think we need to inspire the students,” Wright said. “I also think that social justice is a big thing these particular students are interested in, because they want to learn about these things and talk about them and discuss them, and to develop a culture.” Thankfully, they aren’t alone. “We always have to work together,” Wright said, speaking of her relationship with MCC administration. “There may be things administration doesn’t agree with, but they’re always willing to work with us.”
“Administration is behind us, Student Life is behind us,” Mixson said. “I haven’t been told ‘no’ yet,” he added with a chuckle. Regardless of these changes, the problem of getting students involved won’t disappear overnight. Mixson, though, is optimistic. “I think our biggest benefit is that, unlike most community colleges, we do have a life. It’s just a matter of getting everybody to buy into it.”
