Middlesex Community College

The Faculty Handbook is an information resource for Middlesex Community College and may be especially useful for new and part-time faculty members. Further details about MCC programs, policies and procedures are published in the Academic Catalog, available from the Student Information Center at each campus. The laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, official personnel policies, the agreements between the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education (BHE) and the Massachusetts Community College Council (MCCC), an affiliate of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Council 93 (AFSCME) document the official employment conditions, policies and agreements by which the college operates.

Middlesex Community College is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges and is a member of the American Association of Community Colleges. Some programs have individual accreditation from national professional organizations and associations.

A directory of academic and administrative offices and telephone extension numbers is included in this Handbook. The MCC Portal is accessible at mymcc.middlesex.edu.

Directions to Lowell Campus

The City, Federal, and Howe Street Annex buildings are located in Kearney Square. In addition to classrooms, faculty spaces and instructional labs, the Cowan Center houses a large ground-floor area referred to as the Café. Mainly used as a cafeteria, it also serves occasionally as a meeting and performance space. The Federal Building houses MCC’s new library, assembly hall, classrooms, a visual arts room and conference rooms. Music and dance classes are held in the Howe Street Annex building.

The Derby and Talbot buildings on nearby Middle Street house the Lowell Campus Bookstore, the College’s Health, Science, and Technology Center, the Law Center, the Small Business Assistance Center, and a Dental Clinic.

The Nesmith House is a restored historical mansion in Lowell’s Belvidere section acquired for the College’s use by the Middlesex Community College Foundation in 1994. It is the site of the Lester J. Grant Center for Economic Development and the Elkin B. McCallum Center for International Studies. Nesmith House is frequently used for receptions and events related to MCC academic, community, and institutional activities.

Parking for faculty, staff, and students is provided at the John Street, Market Street and Lower Locks parking garages. Additional parking is available at the Davidson Street lot, opposite the Lowell Memorial Auditorium and in the MCC parking spaces at the Howe Street Annex.

Bedford Campus

The Bedford Campus, with entrances off Springs Road and Orchard Street, consists of eleven separate buildings devoted to classrooms, laboratories, and faculty/staff and administrative offices. The Campus Center is the site of the cafeteria, bookstore, the Office of Student Life, the student government association, and the Fitness Center.

The Middlesex Meetinghouse is located just outside the Bedford campus on Concord Road. It is primarily used for meetings and corporate training.

Parking areas for faculty, staff, and student cars are clearly designated. A shuttle service is available for people parking in the outer lots and in the overflow lot at the Veterans’ Administration Hospital.

Bedford Campus Building Identification

• Building 1 - Academic Resources & Technologies and Library (AR)
• Building 2 - Massachusetts Community College Legal Office
• Building 3 - Henderson Hall (HH)
• Building 4 - Trustee's House (TH)
• Building 5 - Bedford House (BH)
• Building 6 - North Academic (NA)
• Building 7 - South Academic (SA)
• Building 8 - Campus Center (CC)
• Building 9 - Enrollment Center (ER): (Registration and Admissions, Academic Advising Center, Testing Center, Disabilities Support Services, Community Education and Training, Adult Learning Center
• Building 10 – Administration
• Building 11 - Facilities

Information Technologies staff provide assistance regarding campus voice-mail, e-mail and computer use. The Technology Center Help Desk, 978-656-3301, can be reached 7 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. weekdays.

Academic program requirements and objectives, as well as descriptions of all individual courses, are published in the MCC Catalog. New information concerning updated courses and programs and the most current and complete course and program requirements for all academic programs is available on MiddleNet, our MCC electronic registration/grading system. All faculty have access to MiddleNet and can call the MCC helpline at 978-656-3301 if they need to obtain their username and password.

Each semester, a newsletter produced by the Academic Planning Center with more course details and updates is distributed to all faculty.

The Community Education and Training Department offers community outreach initiatives, non-credit courses and training programs. Programs include: career- oriented summer camps for children and teens; academic enrichment courses for middle school, high school and home school youth; and more than 200 non-credit courses and certificate programs each semester. These courses and certificate programs range from basic skills to graduate level technical writing. They include computer applications, programming, web design, foreign languages, test preparation, travel, and a wide selection of online courses. Staff design courses and programs in collaboration with the college’s faculty and administrative staff, local school systems, community leaders, industry, advisory boards, and local agencies.

For more information, visit our Career Training website.

Programs of study and individual credit courses at Middlesex offered after 4:30 p.m. are considered evening classes. Courses are also offered on weekends and summers. The same policies and standards are applied uniformly to all students attending the college. Full- or part-time faculty interested in teaching evening, summer, or weekend credit courses may contact the appropriate division dean, department head, or program coordinator for information about opportunities and procedures. Teaching appointments are made consistent with the collective bargaining agreements.

For the past ten years, MCC has sponsored study abroad fellowships to the People’s Republic of China, Ireland/Northern Ireland, the Netherlands, Costa Rica, and Spain. There are also exchange opportunities, a broad array of cross-cultural activities, and an extensive campus international visitors’ program. Middlesex offers faculty opportunities to participate in international institutes, both on-campus and abroad. For further information, please contact Pat Demaras, 781-280-3256.

Middlesex offers over 100 courses and several complete programs via the Internet. These are taken by students who have a reliable computer and Internet access. Using a web browser and the Blackboard course management system, students engage in course work and interact with their instructors and classmates without the need to attend classes on campus. Online credit courses are given in the semester time frame and have the same requirements, testing, and grading as conventional classroom courses.

Faculty training in developing online courses is available through the Office of Professional and Instructional Development. Faculty from all divisions have designed or adapted courses for online delivery after completing a 30-hour, 10-week program that focuses on both the pedagogical and technical aspects related to online teaching. For more information about online courses, go to Middlesex Interactive.

In order to insure that students entering MCC have the basic skills to do college work, all incoming students are required to take a placement test prior to registering for classes. The test contains three parts: Reading Comprehension, Mathematics, and a Writing Sample. Students who are transferring English and math credits from another college, or have taken the placement test at an earlier date, may qualify for an exemption from all or part of the test.

Flexible studies courses are offered on both campuses and provide an alternative to the traditional classroom. These courses have the same credit and course content as traditional classroom courses. Students may enroll in flexible studies courses even after the semester has started. In flexible studies, students learn at their own pace, benefit from a unique student/teacher partnership, and use a variety of learning tools: texts, videos, computers, and online resources. The flexible studies format is adaptable to diverse learning styles. The Flexible Studies Department offers courses in reading, writing, English as a second language, mathematics, social and behavioral sciences, and foreign languages. For more information call 978-656-3350. For more information visit the Flexible Studies site

Middlesex began participating in the national movement to incorporate service learning into its curriculum in 1992. Service learning is the integration of a community service component into academic course work to enrich the educational experience, meet identified community needs, and link education with civic responsibility. Each year, increasing numbers of MCC students have the opportunity to integrate service with their classroom learning. A service learning option is generally defined as a commitment by students of 22 hours a semester in a community placement as part of credit coursework.

With the awarding of a Learn and Serve grant, The Lowell Civic Collaborative, in 2003, the Service Learning staff is also focusing on supporting faculty and students with the integration of civic engagement. Faculty members are supported in offering service learning and civic engagement options through the Service Learning Office, City Campus, 5th floor or Bedford Campus, ER-Bldg.9, first floor. The service learning staff provides technical assistance, liaison with community agencies, and workshops, as well as follow-up and ongoing support to participating faculty, students and placement sites. For additional information, call 978-656-3159.

Students in good standing (a minimum 2.0 GPA) may develop, in cooperation with a faculty member, a course that is not formally offered at the college. Independent study may only be pursued in the second semester of the student’s first year or during their second year. A maximum of six semester hours (three per semester) may be taken under such an agreement. Contracts for independent study must be approved by the cooperating faculty member, the division dean, and the Provost/Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs. Faculty members who need more information about Independent Studies should contact their division deans.

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