September 2015 - Merced College has joined the Minority Male Community College Collaborative (M2C3) National Consortium on College Men of Color. Participation in the M2C3 Consortium will enhance the College’s commitment to improving the success of historically underrepresented and underserved students, including men of color, according to Dr. Michael McCandless, Dean of Equity and Student Success.
“By partnering with M2C3, Merced College will be able to share ideas and best practices with community colleges throughout the nation,” Dr. McCandless said. “This collaboration with allow us to best serve our minority male population with access to strategic programs and interventions designed to improve student success.”
The partnership provides access to webinars, discussion boards, and other information sources that will improve institutional practices and success rates of a traditionally underrepresented and underserved student population, McCandless said.
Despite programs designed to enhance outcomes for men of color, in the United States only 17 percent and 15 percent of black and Latino men, respectively, earn a certificate, degree, or transfer from a community college to a four-year institution in six years. To address this achievement gap, the M2C3 Consortium facilitates an exchange of ideas between community colleges across the nation on how best to serve men of color in educational institutions.
Merced College ‘s engagement in M2C3 will enhance professional development for faculty and staff, enable informed interventions for programs serving men of color, and inspire new initiatives addressing challenges facing these men. In addition, the partnership will enable the College to better serve its male student body by identifying obstacles hindering success.
Launched in February 2015, the M2C3 program has already seen much success in information-sharing between community colleges with an average of more than 1,000 consortium members participating in each webinar.
For more information on the M2C3 partnership, contact Dr. Michael McCandless at 209.384.6107.
Source; Merced College
