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Out of all the Middle States self-study
standards, the one that I can connect to
the most is number IV, Support of the
Student Experience. Because as a
multicultural content producer for
Montgomery College Television, I get to
create content that's going to reach a
variety of multi-ethnic audiences here
at the county and the college, and the
cool thing is I don't get to do that on
my own. I actually engage with students
and they're very much a part of the
process from beginning to end -- from
pre-production to actually editing
programs that go on channel 10.
So it's exciting because we get to
really apply this directly and enhance
their experience, they get to add that to
their résumé, and then they go on and apply
to jobs at Discovery and CNN and
Univision or any multimedia platform
that they get to pursue.
Standard III, which
has to do with the Design and the
Delivery of the Student Learning
Experience: this standard particularly
speaks to me because, among other things,
it has to do with how we hire faculty.
It has to do with their professional
development and evaluation, and these are
all processes in which, as a department
chair, I am intimately involved. Arguably
nothing is more central to the delivery
of the student learning experience than
their day-to-day contact with their
professor in their classrooms. Another
thing that's...that's a part of Standard III
is it talks about our general education program.
There are decisions that we make, you know,
as members of the mathematics
discipline, that has significant impact
on the general education that our
students receive at Montgomery College.
And so there are several different
aspects of this standard that are
particularly close to my heart.
The Middle States standard that has a lot of
meaning to me is Middle States Standard VII,
which is dealing with the area of
Governance, Leadership, and Administration.
for the past couple of years I've been
participating as a staff person in the
governance system -- our
Montgomery College Participatory Governance
System, and so as a leader in that system
it's allowed me really to see a lot more
about how our administration works, the
structure of the College, and ways that
we as individuals can have a voice.
How can we work together to provide
recommendations, to get feedback, to
really help our institution, but also in
particular to help our students? What can
we do to give them a voice, what can we
do to help them be even more successful,
and how together we can grow as an
institution and really live our vision
and really to be the best staff, faculty
that we can be -- and administrators as well --
to help our students to be successful
during their time at the College and
and beyond.
I am particularly interested in
Standard II, because it involves
academic freedom and the ability of
students to have programs available
which are affordable. I send students
to the Library of Congress, the Holocaust
Museum, and the Smithsonian Institution,
to spend a semester working in a
professional environment. The Institute
also sends faculty members in a faculty
fellowship to the Smithsonian and the
Library of Congress, and there those
teachers learn to use the information
and the exhibits that are available
from those places. There are other things
on campus which support this. Student
Life, for example, has Impact MC and
Spirit of Service, and Student
Development sends students for
internships where they can earn money
and also use their skills.
It is delightful for me that Montgomery
College supports such programs and enables
students to utilize Standard II to
benefit themselves.
I feel the ethics and integrity of very
important, and
that's what we cover in Standard II. I feel
that ethics and integrity are a
forgotten part in the process whenever
there is an applicant chosen for faculty
or staff because people often think that
we want the most qualified candidate to
fill the positions, but also we want
the right candidate to fill these positions,
and I think Standard II really covers
that. It also also covers the academic
integrity as well as intellectual
integrity and respect between faculty
and students. I think that a lot of
students may be intimidated by some of
the...by the resume that a lot of the
administrators and faculty bring to...
to Montgomery College. To know that they
have a standard and to know that you
know that they have administrators that are
in our corner to help them out whenever
they feel like they are being
intimidated is really, really important.
The Middle States Standard that has a special
meaning to me is Standard IV: the
Support of this Student Experience. I can
relate to the standard on a daily basis.
Every year I see thousands of students
that come to see me because they need
financial aid and scholarship support,
and having the opportunity to work with
all the various scholarship programs and
awarding all the Montgomery College
Foundation, I know firsthand what a huge
impact a scholarship makes on each of
our students. Obviously, not all the
students qualify for scholarships and
financial aid, and a lot of the times
those students just need that extra
motivation, that encouragement for them to
realize that achieving their educational
goals is doable.
That's why Standard IV, for me,
represents making sure that all
Montgomery College students succeed and
I have the blessing to have a job that
gives me the opportunity to make
sure that that's done.
By now you've surely heard about the Middle States
reaccreditation process. We are now
conducting our self-study and are moving forward
this Fall with the research and analysis
needed for this study. There are already
dozens of listening sessions scheduled
for the Fall, or you can hear about
what's happening in the workgroups, ask
questions, and give feedback. The more
input that we have the better we can
convey to Middle States Commission the
excellent work we're already doing here
at Montgomery College. Everyone at MC is
a part of the Middle States process, so I
encourage you to speak up and contribute
the expertise that you have.
In particular though, this Fall I invite you
to give feedback on the seven standards
for accreditation.
These are the pillars of how
institutions are evaluated.
Everyone within the institution should be able
to find themselves in these standards.
I encourage you to see where you fit in
and how your job responsibilities
contribute to our successful performance
as an organization.
This is a team effort, if there is ever
one to be had.
So don't miss out on the chance to have
your voices heard.
We need you,
and you're part of this organization.
Take care.
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