Muscatine Community College (MCC) Introduction and Academics

Introduction

Muscatine Community College (MCC) was established in 1929 and is the pioneering college in eastern Iowa. At inception, the institution was known as Muscatine Junior College and was founded specifically to offer educational programs that met the needs of the first two years of a baccalaureate degree.

To address the needs of the local community, the college later introduced additional programs that addressed more immediate vocational needs. In 1962, the college changed its name to MCC to indicate the broad mission it was engaged in. Three years later, the Iowa General Assembly created the Eastern Iowa Community College District (EICCD) which brought together several community colleges. Today, MCC is part of this college district which also includes Clinton Community College and Scott Community College.

MCC is located in north Muscatine and is built on a 27 acre campus.

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Academics

The range of academic and vocational programs offered by MCC is extremely diverse. The college offers Associate in Applied Science degrees, certificates and diplomas in more than 50 areas of study.

The college

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Admissions

MCC operates an open admissions policy enabling any student who demonstrates ability to benefit from the college

Financial Aid

Financial aid for students attending MCC is available from a wide variety of sources both internal and external. Internally, the MCC Foundation, which has been in existence since 1961, has been collecting gifts from estates and benefactor individuals which are then used to help finance the education of gifted needy students. Through the foundation, over $300,000 is distributed to eligible students. Foundation scholarships cover fees, books and tuition expenses.

Students attending MCC could also apply for the Science, Technology and Engineering Program (STEP) Scholarship which are offered by the three EICCD colleges and St. Ambrose University. The partnership between the colleges and St. Ambrose is funded through grants fro the National Science Foundation and is meant to help students from underrepresented minorities pursue careers in engineering.

The scholarship is open to both incoming freshmen and continuing students and could be as high as $3,000 per year. To be eligible, freshmen must have a high school GPA of at least 3.0 while continuing students must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5.

A host of scholarships and grants are also offered by various associations in Iowa. These include the Iowa Automobile Dealers Foundation for Education, the Iowa Hospital Education & Research Foundation Career Scholarship Program, the Iowa ETV-Education and Training Voucher and the Iowa Foster Child Grant among others.

Students enrolled in the college

Students

To complement the academic programs at the institution, students at MCC are encouraged to join one or several of the many student clubs and organizations at the college. The activities of these organizations are financed through an activity fee that every students pays and is distributed by the Student Senate. In addition, this student body acts as the link between the college administration and the students.

Some of the clubs and organizations present at the college include the Drama Club which stages plays, dramas, musicals and comedies and makes at least one major production every semester. Others are the College Choir, the Ag Tech Club (for students pursuing agricultural studies) and the Business Professionals of America. Honor societies represented at the college include Phi Theta Kappa and Delta Epsilon Chi.

Students at MCC also produce their own newspaper, the Calumet. While this is principally used as the voice of the students, it is also used to provide hands-on experience to students taking courses in mass communication.

Athletics

Athletic activities at MCC cover women

Muscatine Community College