Guided Pathways

Guided Pathways to Success (GPS) with Integrated Support Services is an evidenced based, comprehensive framework that helps students identify their educational and career goals, determine their needs, and then chart a clear, coherent pathway to timely goal completion. The aim of GPS is to increase retention and completion, close equity gaps, lower educational costs for students, and help them build the knowledge, skills, and habits of mind needed to be successful in their chosen career and/or transfer institution. GPS reimagines how the college delivers student services while redesigning the structure for foundational courses.

Along with “Pathway Mapping,” an element of GPS that maps degrees, certificates, and university transfer options, MCC created nine Fields of Interest (FOI) to facilitate and simplify student career exploration and academic planning. Each semester MCC hosts events where students can meet with their advisors, faculty and staff, or other students within their FOI to connect with those with similar career interests.

Fields of Interest

Applied Technology | Behavioral Science and Human Services | Business, Entrepreneurialism, and Management | Computer and Information Technology | Culture and Society | Education | Health Sciences | STEM | Visual and Performing Arts

The First-Year Experience

MCC implemented a First Year Experience course that provides all new students with structured career exploration and academic planning. The FYE course helps students identify their career goals, determine their educational pathways, and develop skills and mindsets to help them complete their pathways successfully.

Developmental Education at MCC was redesigned into what is now known as Foundations for Student Success. Steeped in best-practices related to retention and equity, the Foundations office serves the academic needs of student groups, providing programs that include: Academic Preparation Boot Camps, Course Placement Navigation, First Year Experience Program, and Student Success Strategy Instruction. The Foundations office and First Year Experience program maintain an ongoing partnership with TruWest Credit Union, who has provided major program support by means of over $178,000 in gifts since 2019.

Employee Training and Resource Groups

The ability for students to feel properly served and represented in the higher education space is of utmost importance at MCC. To accomplish this, not only are we working to grant equitable access to education via technology and financial aid, but also through employee training and integrated student support services.

Employee training has been executed through MCC’s Title V Grant Project, SENDAS (Students & Employees Nurtured & Developed for Academic Success). One effort within the grant focuses on inclusive hiring practices, fueled by our desire to recruit and retain a diverse workforce that is reflective of student demographics. This includes additional training for employees on hiring committees, as well as advertising open positions in more diverse venues. To read more about the SENDAS grant, please see the “Student Success” section.

MCC has also developed Employee Resource Groups as employees with shared characteristics, backgrounds, and/or experiences come together, cultivating a greater sense of belonging at MCC.

Our students and employees will be surveyed in an upcoming Campus Climate review, administered across all 10 Maricopa Community Colleges this fall, to assess our progress toward reaching our goals.

Too often when students complete college coursework, they neglect to apply for graduation to formally receive a degree or certificate. Through a process called Proactive Graduation, MCC is able to identify eligible students who have met all academic requirements for their program of study and award their academic credentials.

A collaboration between academic and student affairs helped make this possible, with the identification of students who were actively enrolled in Fall 2021 and qualified to graduate from Certificate of Completion programs. The pilot program positively impacted 1,400 students, with a total of 2,000 certificates being awarded (some students received multiple awards). In Spring 2023, Proactive Graduation awarded 2,900 Certificates of Completion and Academic Certificates to 2,400 students.

Proactive Graduation supports our state’s Achieve 60 goal, which calls for 60% of working adults to have a post-secondary credential by 2030, while also supporting MCC’s commitment to student success and completion.

MCC is among the first community colleges in Arizona to be approved to offer Bachelor’s degrees. In November 2022, Chancellor Steven Gonzales of the Maricopa County Community Colleges District (MCCCD) announced that the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) approved accreditation for seven Bachelor’s degree programs across the District. MCC now offers a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Early Childhood Education - Dual Language, and Bachelor of Applied Science (BAS) in Data Analytics and Programming.

A milestone for both MCC and community colleges across the nation, these four-year degrees are affordable, convenient, and of high academic standard at a fraction of the cost of a university.

The current enrollment numbers in MCC’s Bachelor’s Degree programs far exceed the initial goals established during program development.

• Dual Language
  • Currently Enrolled: 110
  • Initial Goal: 23
• Data Analytics
  • Currently Enrolled: 299
  • Initial Goal 20

According to first year program data for MCC students, 65% are continuing/former students; 55% are first generation college students; 52% are female; and 38% are Hispanic/Latino.

This increased access to educational opportunities will bolster the local workforce and lead to individual prosperity among our population.

MCC's Z Degrees are full degree paths that are 100% online and have zero textbook cost for all courses. Any time a course is listed with the term Z Course or Zero-Textbook-Cost Degree, students can be assured that the courses were developed with the highest standards and include multimedia, engaged faculty, and appropriately-selected content.

In 2019, MCC launched the Arizona General Education Curriculum program, naming it “Z Degree” to note “zero-textbook-cost-degree.” The Z Degree path offers up to an estimated 62% savings over the cost of a traditional associate degree program as an online, lower cost alternative to MCC students. Additional savings also come in the form of commuting finances and potential child care costs.

More recently in early 2022, MCC launched a new Z Degree program: an Associate in Arts, Emphasis in Anthropology. Students can take eight-week, online Z Courses for a more-focused semester and a faster degree completion time, or can combine Z Courses with in-person classes while still experiencing savings.

The MCC Z Degree program uses open educational resources (OER), streaming media, library databases, and faculty-developed content. It is funded by the eLearning Department.

At a Glance (at time of data collection):

• Student Success Rates Dashboard
• Enrollment numbers: 7,368
• Faculty involvement: 65 residential and adjunct faculty
• Number of Courses: 44 courses

Thunderbirds everywhere are united by a shared purpose - to provide a pathway to success for the students we serve through their unwavering support.  

Our most recent fiscal year underscored the importance of culture of giving back to our Thunderbird community, and how it directly impacts the lives of our students. MCC saw a third consecutive record-breaking year with more than $1.2 million in total donations between July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023. Nearly 650 students received almost $640,000 in scholarships.

This continued support of MCC students helps bridge financial gaps that are a barrier for many to attend college. An investment into these students’ futures can open the door for those who might not have had the opportunity to pursue an education. In increasing education opportunity and equity, charitable giving positively impacts countless lives, and we could not do it without continued support from our faculty, staff, alumni, and friends. We are grateful for everyone who has expressed their confidence in MCC by making a gift to the College.

MCC is a leader in addressing digital equity in education. We are one of the only higher education institutions in the country that has established infrastructure to manage 10,000 iPad devices through the iBelong Initiative. The program model distributed several thousand iPads to students in the fall 2022 semester, and is being nationally recognized and adopted by other institutions.

Originally developed in response to support students during COVID-19, iBelong provides iPad devices to students for remote learning needs. Devices are administered to students in specific programs, such as the Mesa College Promise. Sections with iPads are taught by trained instructors–faculty who have gone through specialized training offered through MCC’s Center for Teaching and Learning to integrate iPads into their curricula.

Early data shows that nearly 80% of iBelong students find that the iPad helped improve the way they engage with their course(s), through both the convenience, user-friendliness, and portability of the device when used for homework and class activities.

1. “Having access to an iPad for my courses genuinely improved my productivity in ways I did not think possible.”
2. “I would highly recommend the program to other students.”

The model was featured at the American Association of Community Colleges conference in 2023, and is regularly highlighted by Apple.

MCC’s iBelong program was recognized with the 2023 Maricopa County Community College District Diversity Advisory Council Award. The combined efforts of the MCC Library, College Technology Services, Center for Teaching & Learning, and the Thunderbird Tech Studio underscore how student success is truly enriched by collaboration.

Below you will find some statistical snapshots.  

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MCC Student Headcount

MCC Total Student Headcount (unduplicated)

MCC Graduates

Student Race and Ethnicity

Federal Financial Aid Awarded