Accreditation | Campus Locations | Center for Democracy & Humanity | Vision, Values, & Mission
Mount Wachusett Community College is an accredited, public two-year institution serving 29 cities and towns in North Central Massachusetts. The 269-acre main campus is located in Gardner, Massachusetts; satellite sites are located in Devens, Fitchburg, and Leominster. The college offers over 40 associate’s degree and certificate programs, as well as adult basic education/GED programs, education and training for business and industry, and noncredit community service programs. MWCC students enjoy many support services and resources including the Fitness & Wellness Center, the Academic Support Center, and the 555-seat Theatre at the Mount. Courses are offered during the day, evening, on weekends, and online.
Accreditation
Mount Wachusett Community College (MWCC) is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) Inc., a non-governmental, nationally recognized organization whose affiliated institutions include elementary schools through collegiate institutions offering post-graduate instruction. Accreditation of an institution by the NEASC indicates that it meets or exceeds criteria for the assessment of institutional quality periodically applied through a peer group review process. An accredited school or college is one that has available the necessary resources to achieve its stated purposes through appropriate educational programs, is substantially doing so, and gives reasonable evidence that it will continue to do so in the foreseeable future. Institutional integrity is also addressed through accreditation. Accreditation by the NEASC is not partial but applies to the institution as a whole. As such, it is not a guarantee of the quality of every course or program offered, or the competence of individual graduates. Rather, it provides reasonable assurance about the quality of opportunities available to students who attend the institution.
Inquiries regarding the status of an institution’s accreditation by the NEASC should be directed to the administrative staff of the school or college. Individuals may also contact the association:
Commission of Institutions of Higher Education
New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc.
209 Burlington Road, Bedford, Massachusetts 01730-1433
(781) 271-0022
Please note: certain programs have additional industry specific accreditations. See individual program information.
Campus Locations
MWCC’s main campus is in Gardner and its satellite campuses are located in Leominster, (Leominster Campus), Fitchburg, and Devens (Devens Campus). The main campus includes an academic building with fully-equipped classrooms, laboratories, studios, library and theatre. In addition, the MWCC Fitness & Wellness Center offers a gymnasium, athletic field, running track, racquetball courts, pool, weight room, and fitness center.
MWCC’s facilities are accessible to persons with disabilities. Persons with disabilities who may require accommodations to participate fully in program activities should contact the program director or the counselor for students with disabilities, (978) 630-9120.
Center for Democracy & Humanity
MWCC houses the Center for Democracy & Humanity, a liaison between the college and the community and the catalyst that sparks greater community involvement. The center promotes civic engagement, positive social change and healthier, more vibrant communities through innovative programming and partnerships that benefit the college and the greater community. The center offers responsible programming through the Institute for Nonprofit Development, The Molly Bish Institute for Child Health & Safety, United Way Youth Venture, Community Scholars, and the What’s Next Speaker Series. For more information, go to http://democracy.mwcc.edu.
Institutional Vision, Values, and Mission
MWCC is guided by a segmental mission identified for all community colleges by the Board of Higher Education and by an institutional mission that resulted from the college’s own strategic planning process. The segmental mission statement describes the common nature of all community colleges. The institutional mission identifies the distinctive focus of MWCC.
Segmental Mission
MWCC is one of the community colleges within the Commonwealth’s Public Higher Education System. As approved by the Board of Higher Education, the community college’s comprehensive mission is to provide academic preparation for transfer to four-year institutions, career preparation for entry into high demand occupational fields, developmental courses to prepare students for college level work, job retraining, and lifelong learning opportunities. The colleges are committed to excellence in instruction, open access, affordable costs, and providing responsive, innovative, educational programs of high quality. This is accomplished by developing each student’s critical thinking skills, oral and written communication, and appreciation of the arts, sciences, and humanities.
The community colleges offer a campus climate that respects the ideas, values, perspectives, and contributions of a culturally diverse community. They provide both academic and personal support services to assure that all students have a realistic opportunity to achieve academic and career success. The community colleges serve as a leader and resource for the community, identifying opportunities and solutions to community problems and contributing to the region’s intellectual, cultural, environmental, and economic development. The community colleges bear special responsibilities for state workforce development by providing job training, retraining, certification, and skills improvement programs.
The community colleges support the public system through their commitment to MassTransfer programs, by managing their resources in an efficient and responsible manner, by expanding collaborative efforts with K-12 and baccalaureate institutions, and by assuming primary responsibility to offer courses, programs, and other educational services for individuals who seek to develop the skills necessary to pursue college study.
Institutional Mission
MWCC exists to meet the education, training, and lifelong learning needs of an educationally, economically, and culturally diverse population living and working in North Central Worcester County. As a publicly-supported, community-focused institution of higher education, the college provides open access to affordable, high quality programs and services that are relevant and responsive to the changing and dynamic needs of the students and residents we serve. MWCC offers a broad and focused array of credit and noncredit pre-baccalaureate learning opportunities that facilitate: transfer to a four-year institution of higher education; acquisition of occupational and workforce knowledge, skill sets, and credentials for entry and lifelong maintenance of skill currency in an ever-changing world of work; and the development of fundamental academic and learning skills essential for underprepared students to successfully transition to college and the workplace.
We are a student and community centered institution fully engaged in the life of the community and a vital resource enabling student development and success as well as civic and economic growth and advancement. We are
dedicated to enriching the quality of individual and community life, stimulating economic vitality, and helping make North Central Worcester County a better place to live and work.
MWCC lives its mission by adhering to the following key operating principles:
Learning is the Central Purpose: MWCC is a learning community committed to quality instruction, innovative curriculum, and personalized support. Providing a supportive, creative learning environment for students, faculty, and staff is a high priority. The college is committed to building and maintaining a supportive learning environment that values creativity and diverse perspectives and contributions of all members of the community. We are responsible for equipping our students with essential learning skills to be successful lifelong learners able to adapt easily and acquire new knowledge and skills for a changing world.
Belief in Human Potential for Success: All students, whatever skill level or background upon entry, have the potential to learn and grow; our responsibility is to facilitate their learning and growth through programming and services that meet the diversity and uniqueness of needs. We are proactive in providing academic and personal support services tailored to help students succeed by reducing barriers to success. We accept our responsibility as educators to foster an environment and experience that help our students realize their goals.
Civic Engagement Links Learning to the Fabric of the Community: MWCC is passionately committed to using its visibility and position of respect in the community as a force for positive change. Aggressive community outreach and a culture of active engagement in the economic, civic, and cultural activities of the region are defining characteristics of the Mount. The Mount welcomes partnerships to improve underperforming elementary and secondary schools and seeks alliances to deal with structural economic problems impacting the community. The college is devoted to helping the region capitalize on its strengths, building prospects for an area with a diverse population, great scenic beauty, and affordable housing choices but still oriented to its past as a premier manufacturing center. The college is supportive of strategic collaborative initiatives that increase its responsiveness to workforce needs and help increase access to new technologies and knowledge, key to strengthening the economic foundation and competitiveness of the region.
Vision
MWCC is a thriving vibrant resource for the community we serve. We provide hope and opportunity for all those we touch: enriching lives, developing potential, enabling success, and serving as a primary catalyst for social, cultural, and economic growth and development. All those we serve recognize us as a benchmark for teaching and learning excellence and outstanding service to students and the community. We are vital, we are committed, and we deliver.
Core Values
MWCC is a community of learners where all are warmly welcomed, valued for their individuality, and applauded for their unique contribution to making MWCC a special place to learn, work, gather, and play. Students, faculty, and staff recognize the innate worth of each community member and the importance of diversity in sustaining a rich, healthy, and vibrant environment. The college affirms the following values that unite us as a collective body and guide our daily interactions:
Human Potential: We believe that every member of our community (student, faculty, staff, and service area resident) has potential to learn, grow, and develop as an educated and engaged citizen, and lead meaningful joyful lives.
Mutual Respect and Trust: We treat each member of our community as a valued person deserving dignity, kindness, fairness, and trust. Through words and actions, we accept differences, share perspectives, and honor the trust placed in us by being trustworthy, acting ethically, and working cooperatively and collaboratively.
Integrity: We speak and act truthfully in our interactions with students, colleagues, and community feeling safe to own up to mistakes and free to be open and honest. We conduct our business ethically and responsibly.
Accountability: We hold ourselves and others accountable for not letting the team down, for acting professionally and with integrity, for fulfilling commitments, demonstrating good judgment, and for always seeking the truth and applying facts to continually improve as individuals and as a college.
Considerate Open Communication: We readily share information and ideas, encourage the exchange of ideas and opinions, listen without judgment, speak honestly but kindly, and freely and productively engage in discussions.
Creativity and Responsible Risk Taking: We motivate ourselves, students, and colleagues to think creatively in the face of challenge; try new ideas and approaches; and be innovative, recognizing that responsible risk taking is vital to innovation, growth, and advancement.
Cooperation and Collaboration: We look beyond self interest and work for the greater good of the whole by being positive and active participants and contributors to the realization of common goals, encouraging and supporting others, being helpful in difficult situations, and building consensus to achieve results.
Strategic Priorities
Teaching and Learning Responsiveness and Excellence: Meet student and community needs for relevant, flexible, and high quality curriculum and student centered teaching/learning opportunities.
Student Success: Foster a nurturing, student-centered learning environment with a cohesive network of support services that maximize access and students’ potential to learn, succeed academically, and persist.
Community Outreach and Involvement: Strengthen the college’s outreach and presence and impact on the community it serves.
Finances and Resources: Acquire and wisely, responsibly invest financial, physical, technological and human resources to realize the college’s vision, achieve its mission, and accomplish strategic goals and objectives.
Institutional Culture and Climate: Transform institutional climate and culture to position the college to fully realize its vision, fulfill its mission, and successfully achieve its strategic goals, objectives, and desired outcomes.