Marshalltown Community College (MCC) was founded in 1927 as Marshalltown Junior College. MCC is one of three community colleges in the Iowa Valley Community College District, along with Iowa Valley Community College in Grinnell and Ellsworth Community College in Iowa Falls.
| Overall Score (about) | 67.4 |
| Total Cost On-Campus Attendance | $16,376 |
| Admission Success rate | N/A |
| Student Ratio Students-to-Faculty | 17 : 1 |
| Retention (full-time / part-time) | 71% / 31% |
| Enrollment Total (all students) | 1,931 |
Degree programs include Agriculture and Animal Science; Arts, Communications, and Social Sciences; Entrepreneurial and Diversified Agriculture; Art; Broad casting and Mass Media Studies; Veterinary Medicine; Communications, Public Relations, and Journalism; English; Entertainment Design Technology; Family and Consumer Science; History; Music; Political Science; Psychology; Sociology; and Graphic Arts. Some of the most popular professional programs are Construction Trades, Family and Social Work, Medical Support and Technology, Nursing and Emergency Medicine, and Production Trades.
Libraries contain computer terminals, scanners, copiers, and faxes for student use. There is also video-viewing equipment available for students. Wireless access is available throughout the library. The library uses the State of Iowa Libraries Online Locator to procure interlibrary loan materials for MCC students.
The distance education program offers flexible scheduling. The online classes at MCC use ANGEL, rather than the standard Blackboard. Students who wish to take classes online must have high speed internet access, a media player, Microsoft Word, Acrobat Reader, and Internet Explorer 7 or higher (or similar). Nearly a third of all MCC students take at least one class online.
In keeping with MCC’s mandate to provide higher education for any student who wishes to pursue it, admissions are open.
Tuition is cheaper for students from Iowa than for students from out of state; however, MCC has notably lower out-of-state tuition fees than most public schools. Nearly 90% of the student body receives financial aid in one form or another.
The average age of the student body is 24. About 40% of the student body is male and 60% is female. Ten percent of MCC students live on campus. About 90% of students are from the state of Iowa.
MCC has two residence halls on campus. The two dormitories each contain 24 apartments. Each apartment has two double bedrooms, a kitchenette, and a common room. Seventy percent of the students living on campus are athletes; many of the rest are international students. The on-campus cafeteria, The Tiger Shack, is open weekdays during the school year. Students living in residence are required to purchase a meal plan. Vegetarian and vegan options, however, are a little slim.
There is a healthy range of student groups at MCC. For the particularly academic there is the Honors Program and Phi Theta Kappa; for those with an interest in government, Student Senate and Student Activities Council; and then a collection of religious and interest groups, such as College Conservatives, Forever Representing Our God (FROG), and Gamers Using Multi-Player Systems (GUMPS).
The Student Success Center offers a quiet, study-friendly place for students to work during school days in-between classes or any time they would like academic support. It features study carrels, computer terminals for student use, voice-activated computer software, software programs for current courses (for students who may not have it themselves), and printers. Students may also take academic skills courses through the Student Success Center to improve their spelling, vocabulary, math skills, reading skills, and studying strategies.
MCC strives to make learning resources available to any student who needs them. For students with disabilities, the Student Success Center offers several forms of assistive technology. These include test enlargement software, voice recognition software, oversized computer monitors, tape players, talking textbooks, and Braille books. The Center can also arrange to hire readers with support from the Iowa Commission for the Blind.
Academic Support Services available at MCC include academic advising, personal counselling, vocational counselling. MCC offers free peer tutoring to their students in core academic subjects. Writing assistance is also available for students who would like help with their academic papers. Students who seek writing help must bring a completed draft of their writing assignment with them to the tutoring session. English as a Second Language (ESL) assistance, in the form of structured courses, peer tutoring, and assistive software, are available by appointment or on a drop-in basis.
MCC also offers TRiO support services, a federally funded set of services for full-time, first-generation college student who can demonstrate financial need. Benefits include scholarship opportunities, free leadership workshops, transfer counselling, funded trips to visit universities, including University of Northern Iowa, Iowa State University, and University of Iowa;
The athletic department at MCC is known as the Tigers. The Tigers participate in 10 intercollegiate varsity sports through the NJCAA: men’s cross country, women’s cross country, women’s volleyball, men’s soccer, women’s basketball, men’s basketball, women’s golf, men’s golf, women’s softball, and men’s baseball. Volleyball and basketball are both particularly popular sports at MCC. MCC has a particularly active athletic club, which raises funds for over 90 athletic scholarships.
The Student Activity Center contains a fitness center with a workout room and running track. Membership is free for students. The athletics department facilities also include basketball courts, volleyball courts, and cheerleading facilities.
Students at MCC spend time in Marshalltown as well as many of the surrounding towns and cities, especially Des Moines and Altoona.
Marshalltown is the county seat of Marshall County. It has a population of around 26,000. Known as “the prettiest place in Iowa,” Marshalltown is known for being the home town of Baseball Hall of Fame player Adrian Constantine Anson, director Joseph Kosinski, Actress Mary Beth Hurt, and baseball player and Christian evangelist Billy Sunday.
Marshalltown is home to an early 20th century theater that belongs to the League of Historic American Theaters. The Fisher Theater hosts several plays a year as presented by the Marshalltown Community Theater, while the Community Center next door houses the Fisher Art Gallery and its own collection of Impressionist paintings. The Marshalltown Library has a collection of over 300,000 volumes, including downloadable audiobooks and ebooks.
Riverview Park, located on the Iowa River in Marshalltown, is home to many recreational facilities and gardens. There are also several golf courses in town. There are bus routes in Marshalltown to take students to and from campus. For those students with cars, campus parking is free.
Many students who come to Marshalltown to attend MCC decide to stay. For those who do, there are numerous employment opportunities. Major employers in Marshalltown include the air conditioner and furnace manufacturer Lennox; construction and archeological tool manufacturer Marshalltown Company; process control valve manufacturer Fisher Controls; networked systems creator Fakespace; communications industry RACOM Corporation; and the meatpacking plant Swift & Company.
Marshalltown is less than an hour away from Des Moines, the largest urban center in the state of Iowa. There are over half a million people in the Des Moines area. Des Moines is home to numerous artistic and cultural festivals, especially in warmer weather.
The Civic Center of Greater Des Moines hosts several professional theater productions a month. Des Moines also features an award-winning opera, a symphony, a ballet company, and an annual jazz series. The Wells Fargo Arena seats nearly 1,700 people and hosts concerts and sporting events of national renown. The Des Moines Art Center has an excellent reputation and several rotating and visiting exhibits. The Temple for Performing Arts downtown is adjacent to the Central Library, which contains a treasure trove of reading material for intellectually curious students and is graced by an organic roof.
While in the area, students are encouraged to visit the architecturally marvellous Salisbury House and Gardens—especially for the Shakespeare on the Lawn festival and, for automotive students, the annual Auto Classic.
Other intellectual attractions for students include the Science Center of Iowa, which includes a domed star theater and a large IMAX dome theater. The nature-minded would also enjoy the Des Moines Botanical Center, which contains one of the nation’s largest collections of tropical and desert plants; Blank Park Zoo, a 22 acre area containing rainforest, Australian, and African exhibits; and the 230 acre Great Ape Trust, a research facility for orangutans and bonobos which offers public tours by reservation.
There are a few attractions simply for fun in Altoona, which is located between Marshalltown and Des Moines. Students can visit the amusement park Adventureland Park, with 3 roller coasters and over a hundred rides, attractions, and games; or Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino, with 24 hour a day gambling, live entertainment, and a variety of horse races.
Attractions. City of Des Moines. Web. 5 May 2011.
Clubs and Organizations. Marshalltown Community College. Web. 5 May 2011.
FAQs. City of Marshalltown. Web. 5 May 2011.
Fiske, Edward B. Fiske Guide to Colleges 2011. Chicago: Sourcebooks, 2010. Print.
Online Education. Marshalltown Community College. Web. 5 May 2011
Pope, Loren. Looking Beyond the Ivy League: Finding the College That’s Right for You. New York: Penguin. 2007. Print.
Student Success Center. Marshalltown Community College. Web. 5 May 2011.
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