**The following article was previously published in Quo Vadis on February 8, 2015**
Faculty and students got together for the College Assembly meeting in the Rose M. Channing Danziz Amphitheater of L’Hommedieu Hall on Thursday, December 4, 2014 at 2 p.m. to discuss aspects of the College that needed to be revised, changed or added; the members of the College Assembly made the necessary revisions by getting input from the faculty and students who were present for the meeting.
At the meeting, many things were discussed ranging from new classes being added to adding a new degree option. For those interested in a Global Studies A.A. Degree, there is now the option to choose that degree here at the College. During the College Assembly, the Media Arts & Design A.A.S. Degree was revised.
Three new courses have been added to The College. They are all go along with the Accelerated Learning Program (ALP) model, which is helpful to students yearning to achieve the academic status they need. When responding to student, E. Villapiano’s questions regarding the statistics that support the Accelerated Learning Program (ALP) model, Professor Nester responded by stating, “Research at Columbia University suggests the ALP model is a very dynamic and effective way to get students to achieve the status that they need to get to college level classes.” Professor Nester went on to say, “Assessment of the ALP pilot program here at MCC suggests that, at the completion of the semester, many students in the ENG 010 ALP course outperform ENG 121 placed students.”
The three courses, which are reading and English classes, are proven to be beneficial to students. At the assembly, Professor Spano and Professor Winchester, who are both instructors in the pilot ENG ALP courses here at the College, spoke positively about the successes in the program. Professor Nester clarified for Professor Blanco by saying, “traditional ENG 121 placed students receive a traditional ENG 121 even if in the class with ALP students”. He continued to clarify by saying, “the assessments have shown that the ALP students in the mixed ENG 121 class performed better, in many cases, than the traditionally placed ENG 121 students in the same class, not that the traditionally placed ENG 121 students performed better than their counterparts in homogeneous ENG 121 classes.”
Also during the assembly, there were course description changes made for two classes. These changes were made to the ENG 121 class and also the ENG 122 class. Both class description changes had to do with minor wording changes. At the assembly, Veronica Clinton, Executive Director of the Middlesex County College Foundation, spoke to the assembly regarding the upcoming 50th Anniversary Gala. The Gala is to be held on campus on April 28, 2015. Veronica Clinton also encouraged attendance to the gala. Tickets are $200 per person with the fundraising goal set at $165,000; so far, $48,000 has been raised to date. There is a maximum of 300 seats available and anyone interested in the 50th Anniversary Gala can contact foundation@middlesexcc.edu for more information. The next meeting of the College Assembly will be held on Thursday, February 5, 2015 at 2:00 PM.
