Academic Support

Success Navigators are assigned to students to support admissions, retentions, and progress in academic courses. Success Navigators along with other MCC employees utilize Watermark Student Success & Retention Software to communicate with students and faculty and monitor attendance and grades. Success Navigators can assist in supporting students in setting up tutoring for courses, and coordination of other support services available on and off campus to promote success. For assistance students may contact their Success Navigators through Watermark or by email.

Confidential academic and personal counseling services are available to all students. Counseling Services staff are available to help students better understand the various types of curriculum programs offered at the College; to discuss career options as they relate to educational planning; to assist students with personal/life skills; to provide support for students with documented disabilities; and to provide academic support including tutorial services. When necessary and with the student’s permission, the counseling staff may make referrals to community resources and/or agencies if additional assistance is needed to secure the student’s academic success while enrolled at MCC. Students are seen on a walk-in basis or by appointment made with a member of the counseling staff, whose offices are located in Blair Hall.

The counseling staff coordinates test sessions for students receiving accommodations; general placement test sessions are coordinated by College and Career Readiness staff. Students needing assistance with career exploration and/or development should contact the counselor for self-directed assessments and resources.

Counseling Services also utilizes the Watermark Student Success & Retention Early Alert system. The Early Alert technology serves as a retention tool and allows for personalized and targeted intervention strategies through a caseload management approach. In collaboration with staff, faculty, and Success Coaches, this technology monitors the student’s performance (progression, retention, and completion) in each course.

Counseling Services coordinates the Student Assistance Program (SAP). The SAP offers free, confidential help to MCC students and their immediate family members. The SAP has a network of counselors available for short-term mental health counseling. The SAP is delivered by MYgroup McLaughlin Young, LLC. The Student Access Program provides help with personal, school, or work-related problems Some reasons to contact SAP include but are not limited to the following:

• Grief & Loss
• Stress, Anxiety & Depression
• Alcohol or drug use
• School-related issues
• Goal setting
• 66
• Legal & financial issues

Students can have up to 3 FREE sessions per topic. It is 100% confidential and it is available 365 days, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. To seek assistance, simply call 704-529-1428 or 800-633-3353.

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is a federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in education programs and activities. Such discrimination can include sexual harassment or sexual violence, such as sexual intercourse without consent, sexual assault, and sexual coercion. Title IX also prohibits gender-based harassment, which may include acts of verbal, nonverbal, or physical aggression, intimidation, or hostility based on sex or sex-stereotyping even if those acts do not involve conduct of a sexual nature.

Montgomery Community College is committed to pursuing aggressively an equal opportunity policy and does not tolerate discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, or genetic information in its programs and activities. If you believe you have been or are being discriminated against based on your gender, please contact one of the Title IX Coordinators listed below. You may also contact a trusted faculty or staff member who will notify a Coordinator. We take complaints seriously and will work with you to ensure your safety, to remedy the situation, and to prevent its recurrence.

Hollie Ritter, ritterh0865@montgomery.edu, 910-898-9619

Services for students with disabilities are provided to students who request them. It is a personal decision to disclose the existence of a disability and to request accommodation, and a decision not to disclose will be respected. While academic accommodations can be requested any time during a semester, please be aware that academic accommodations cannot be made retroactively and do not take effect until the student has registered with the Counseling Office and the instructor has been provided with an accommodation letter.

Individuals must reapply for accommodation each semester they are a student at Montgomery Community College.

A disability under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act is described as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities of the individual. Examples include:

• Attention-Deficit/Hyperactive Disorder
• Blindness/Visual Impairment
• Deaf/Hard of hearing
• Learning Disabilities
• Physical Disabilities
• Psychiatric Disabilities
• Speech and Language Disabilities
• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Other disabilities that include conditions affecting one or more of the body’s systems.

Schedule an intake interview with Montgomery Community College’s Counselor to complete necessary forms.

Submit documentation of the special needs/accommodations/disability which will be used to evaluate requests for reasonable accommodation and/or auxiliary aids. Although helpful, an Individualized Education Program (IEP) is not sufficient for documenting a disability or receiving reasonable accommodations. Documentation must include the following:

A diagnostic statement identifying the special need/accommodations/disability, date of the most current diagnostic evaluation, and the date of the original diagnosis.

A description of the diagnostic tests, methods, and/or criteria used.

A description of the current functional impact of the special needs/accommodations/disability which includes specific test results and the examiner’s narrative interpretation.

Treatment, medications, and/or assistive devices/services currently prescribed or in use.

A description of the expected progression or stability of the impact of the special needs/accommodations/disability over time, particularly in the next few years.

The credentials of the diagnosing professional if not clear from the letterhead or other forms.

The counselor will review and evaluate the documentation which will include the impact of the documentation on the goals and standards of the academic program, course, and/or activity. The student will be notified once documentation is reviewed to determine whether it meets the established criteria, verifies the existence of a disability, and establishes how the requested accommodation will be effective. The process of determining reasonable accommodations is a collaborative effort between you, the college’s counselor, a professional providing the documentation, and the course instructor or program director, if necessary.

The Counseling Office will issue an accommodation letter to the student’s instructor(s) if reasonable accommodations are determined. Each semester thereafter, the student must repeat the process by submitting appropriate documentation, completing forms, and meeting with the counselor to develop appropriate accommodations.

Individuals may use the formal or informal process for dispute resolution, if necessary (see Student Handbook under Student Grievance/Complaint Procedure).

Montgomery Community College recognizes that disabilities include mobility, sensory, health, psychological, and learning disabilities. It is our intent to provide reasonable accommodation for qualified individuals with disabilities. There are three kinds of accommodations that are not considered reasonable:

It is not a reasonable accommodation if making the accommodation or allowing participation poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others;

It is not a reasonable accommodation if making the accommodation means making a substantial change in an essential element of the curriculum (educational viewpoint) or a substantial alteration in the manner in which services are provided; and

It is not reasonable accommodation if it poses an undue financial or administrative burden.

The Academic Counseling Exchange (ACE) provides support and assistance with course material to Montgomery Community College students for free. Whether they are struggling with course material or want to turn that B into an A, students are encouraged to access ACE. Most of the support services are available online through Blackboard from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 a.m. daily, including Saturdays and Sundays. Most subjects are available on-demand, but some advanced topics may require an appointment. ACE Online tutoring can assist students in the following areas:

Math: Basic Math through Calculus, including Introductory and Advanced Statistics

Science: Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Human Anatomy & Physiology

Writing: Submission-based writing feedback is available 24/7. Students receive feedback in approximately 18 hours, on average.

Business: Accounting, Finance, and Introductory Economics

Nursing: Medical Terminology, Patho Psychology, Pharmacology, and other topics.

Design Software: Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Illustrator, InDesign, Light Room)

For more information about ACE, for assistance in a course not listed above, or for help linking to an ACE coach, please contact Hollie Ritter, in the Counseling Center, Blair Hall (Building 100), Room 129, email ritterh0865@montgomery.edu or call (910) 898-9619.

MCC provides In-person tutoring for students needs additional support. For more information about tutoring services please contact Hollie Ritter, in the Counseling Office, Blair Hall (Building 100), Room 129, e-mail ritterh0865@montgomery.edu or call (910) 898-9619 or see times and hours posted at the Counseling Office.