Eduardo J. Padrón
President
Office of the President
300 N.E. Second Avenue
Miami, Florida 33132-2297
305-237-3316
epadron@mdc.edu
Message From the President
Monday, January 07, 2013
Welcome to a New Year at Miami Dade College
Happy New Year and welcome back to Miami Dade College. I hope you enjoyed your winter break and are refreshed and ready for the exciting time ahead of us.
Last year, I encouraged you to focus on the College’s top priority: increasing student success and completion rates. A year later, we can be proud of our results.
Through the efforts of our Student Achievement Initiatives (SAI), we made remarkable strides in 2012. For the first time in MDC history, we prepared nearly 10,000 first-time-in-college students for success. These students attended mandatory orientations, were assigned advisors and registered for their first semester classes for fall 2012 and spring 2013.
Knowing that 71 percent of first-time-in-college students entering MDC must take at least one remediation course, we were aggressive in high school outreach and pre-admission activities to ensure students are college-ready. We planned workshops covering a myriad of topics, including tutoring, financial aid, college application completion and SAT/ACT preparation for the 2012-2013 academic year. Nearly 2,000 students took our PERT exam test-prep boot camps in math, reading and writing during the summer of 2012. Results show that 50 percent of students who took our boot camp advanced one-placement level, when comparing pre- and post-test scores. We also launched !HACER! — a collaborative initiative with the Lumina Foundation and 17 industry, community and civic partners, designed to support Latino high school students in earning or obtaining a post-secondary credential.
We know that student achievement is best supported when academic and student services are strategically integrated and partnered, and our goals for the 2013-14 academic year reflect this knowledge. We will continue to examine and improve our orientation, advisement and registration processes for the incoming 2013-14 academic year students. Faculty and staff are merging their strengths to develop structured program pathways and advising sheets coupled with more effective advising, coaching and mentoring. We will create communities of interest to engage students who are studying business and health care, and expand opportunities for students to benefit from additional learning support, both inside and outside of the classroom. Our goal is to ensure that students know the requirements to succeed and select programs of study early in their college careers.
MDC continues to experience unparalleled growth in enrollment, new programs and facilities. Everyone who works and studies at MDC, and volunteers time and resources, deserves credit for the College’s success. I am confident that we will continue to work together to make 2013 the most successful year for student achievement in MDC history.
Thank you.
Eduardo